Berwick upon Tweed Railway Station

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason and upon whose authority the entrance doors to Berwick upon Tweed railway station were closed to the public on Sunday 27 February at a time when the station was supposed to be open to the public and trains were stopping there.

Tony McNulty: The station was locked due to an error on the part of GNER staff, and resulted in a 30 minute delay for passengers wanting to travel on the 0940 departure. GNER arranged for an additional stop to be made by the next train passing through the station. I understand that this was an isolated incident, and that GNER have publicly apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.

Road Building

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average cost is of building one mile of new (a) motorway, (b) dual carriageway and (c) conventional two lane road.

Alistair Darling: The average cost of building one mile of new (a) motorway is £24 million per mile, (b) dual lane carriageway is £13 million per mile, (c) conventional two lane road is £8 million per mile.
	In considering the cost of a new road there are many variables, including the difference between urban or rural areas, a new route or an improvement of an existing network. These can result in significant differences in the cost for a similar standard. Factors such as quality of land, site geology, drainage, environmental mitigation, traffic management or restricted access can also have a large impact on cost.
	The averages costs quoted above are taken from roads constructed by the Highways Agency and include elements for structures, land, compensation, design and site supervision, but not future inflation.

Traffic Accidents (Essex)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many traffic accidents in which charges were brought in (a) Essex and (b) Southend-on-Sea in each year since 1997 resulted in (i) conviction and (ii) acquittal.

David Jamieson: The information requested is not available.

Lone Parents

Phil Sawford: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the co-ordination of Government policy in relation to lone parents.

Alan Milburn: The whole Government are working to provide new opportunities for loan parents, whether to improve child care or help to find a job. I can report to the House that since 1998, the new deal for lone parents has helped 300,000 lone parents into work.

Consultants

John McDonnell: To ask the Solicitor-General what the total expenditure of the Crown Prosecution Service on external consultants was in (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004 broken down by directorate; and what the cost of employing external consultants is expected to be in (i) 2004–05, (ii) 2005–06, (iii) 2006–07 and (iv) 2007–08 broken down by directorate.

Harriet Harman: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) employs the services of external consultants to bring in special skills and expertise or to cover gaps in staff resources and/or where an independent assessment is needed.
	The following table provides a breakdown of expenditure by each headquarters directorate for financial years 2001–02 to 2003–04 and the expected costs of employing external consultants in financial years 2004–05 and 2005–06.
	It is not possible to provide forecasts for the following years as detailed expenditure plans for those years have yet to be agreed. Future expenditure on external consultants is expected to continue to decrease. The aggregate expenditure of CPS areas has been included to ensure completeness.
	
		
			  £000 
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 1 2005–06 1 
		
		
			 CPS Areas 218 111 1,028 404 400 
			 Business Development Directorate 126 152 926 2,024 1,250 
			 Business Information Systems Directorate 4,887 2,328 1,033 846 600 
			 Casework Directorate 184 — — 47 — 
			 Finance Directorate 230 626 809 1,213 800 
			 Human Resources Directorate 1,271 1,207 2,889 1,712 925 
			 Policy Directorate 210 522 454 578 — 
			 Total 7,126 4,946 7,139 6,824 3,975 
		
	
	(5) Forecast

Criminal Justice System (Military)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Solicitor-General if the Attorney-General will re-assess his role in the operation and application of the criminal justice system as it relates to the military.

Harriet Harman: In the Attorney-General's Statement (14 June 2004, Official Report, Lords, columns WS22–24) he set out the role of the military prosecuting authorities, which act independently of the military chain of command. They are subject to the general superintendence of the Attorney-General.
	The court martial system was established under the Army Act 1955 and is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Defence. The Attorney's role relates to prosecutions brought by the military service prosecuting authorities. The Attorney-General will not be re-assessing his role in this regard.

Environmental Crime

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General what guidance she has provided to the Crown Prosecution Service on legislative provisions introduced since 1997 which availed a reversal of the burden of proof in environmental crimes; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Crown Prosecution Service does not generally prosecute in cases of environmental crime.
	Like all prosecuting authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service carefully monitors developments in criminal cases involving challenges to reverse burdens. Where appropriate, it issues guidance, or revisions to guidance, on reverse burden cases to its prosecutors.
	The CPS issued guidance circulars to its prosecutors following the decision of the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords in "Lambert" and, more recently, the decision of the Court of Appeal in "Attorney General's Reference (No. l of 2004)." It also used its internal newsletter to notify prosecutors of the decisions of the courts in "Lynch v DPP; Attorney General's Reference (No. 4 of 2002); Sheldrake v DPP." None of these cases have concerned legislative provisions introduced since 1997 which availed a reversal of the burden of proof in environmental crimes.

Alcohol-related Deaths (Tyne and Wear)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many deaths in each local authority area in Tyne and Wear alcohol use was recorded as a contributory factor since 2000; and how many of those deaths were in those aged under 30 years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Jim Cousins, dated 8 March 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for how many deaths in each local authority area in Tyne and Wear, alcohol use was recorded as a contributory factor since 2000; and how many of those deaths were in those aged under 30 years. (220399)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2003. The attached table shows the numbers of deaths among residents of local authorities in the former metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear where the underlying cause of death indicated a condition directly related to alcohol use in the years 2000 to 2003. During this four year period, six of these deaths in the former metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear were of people aged under 30.
	The ONS definition of alcohol-related deaths only includes those causes regarded as being most directly due to alcohol consumption. Apart from deaths due to accidental poisoning with alcohol, this definition excludes external causes of death, such as road traffic deaths and other accidents, and alcohol-related suicides and homicides. Estimates of the annual total number of deaths in which alcohol has played a role can therefore vary widely depending on the criteria used. The definition used by ONS allows for consistent comparisons over time for those deaths where a clear association with alcohol consumption can generally be assumed.
	
		Alcohol-related deaths(6) by local authority in the former metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear area,(7) 2000–032,3 Number
		
			 Local authority 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Gateshead 27 31 23 38 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 44 32 48 44 
			 North Tyneside 30 28 22 33 
			 South Tyneside 17 19 28 31 
			 Sunderland 53 38 44 45 
		
	
	(6) For the year 2000 the cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (1CD-9). The codes used by ONS to define alcohol-related deaths are listed below:
	291—Alcoholic psychoses.
	303—Alcohol dependence syndrome.
	305.0—Non-dependent abuse of alcohol.
	425.5—Alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
	571—Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.
	E860—Accidental poisoning by alcohol.
	For the years 2001–03 the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) was used. To maintain comparability with earlier years the following codes were used:
	F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol.
	142.6—Alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
	K70—Alcoholic liver disease
	K73—Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified.
	K74—Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver.
	X45—Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol.
	The selection of codes to define alcohol-related deaths is described in:
	Baker A and Rooney C (2003). Recent trends in alcohol-related mortality, and the impact of ICD-10 on the monitoring of these deaths in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 17, pp 5–14.
	(7) Usual residents of these areas.
	(8) Deaths occurring in each calendar year.

Earnings

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the percentage change in earnings was in each region of the UK for 2003–04, in descending order.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 8 March 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the percentage change in earnings was in each region of the UK for 2003–04, in descending order. (219854)
	Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for ASHE tables. The ASHE does not collect data on the self-employed and people who do unpaid work.
	I attach a table showing the percentage change for each region in the United Kingdom for full-time employees.
	The ASHE, earned out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It has a one per cent sample of all employees.
	The ASHE publication criteria ensure that all estimates are undisclosive. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.
	
		Weekly pay—gross (£)—for full-time employee jobs(9): United Kingdom, 2004
		
			 Region Annual percentage change 
		
		
			 Mean earnings  
			 North East 6.6 
			 Wales 5.4 
			 Northern Ireland 5.2 
			 North West 5.1 
			 West Midlands 5.0 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4.6 
			 East 4.5 
			 London 3.6 
			 East Midlands 3.4 
			 South West 3.4 
			 South East 2.9 
			 Scotland 2.9 
			   
			 Median earnings  
			 North East 7.1 
			 Northern Ireland 6.6 
			 Wales 6.2 
			 West Midlands 5.1 
			 North West 5.0 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4.8 
			 London 4.6 
			 East 4.1 
			 South East 3.8 
			 Scotland 3.5 
			 South West 3.3 
			 East Midlands 2.8 
		
	
	(9) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

Immigration

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate the Government has made of the change in levels of immigration by travellers from the Republic of Ireland into the UK over the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Caroline Spelman, dated 8 March 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question regarding the levels of immigration by travellers from the Republic of Ireland into the UK over the last five years. (219877)
	The phrase 'travellers from the Republic of Ireland' has been taken to refer to all those migrating from the Republic to the United Kingdom, not specifically to Irish Travellers who constitute a subgroup of the populations of both the Republic of Ireland and the UK.
	The attached table shows the estimates of total migration between the two countries from 1999 to 2003, the latter of which is the most recent year for which estimates are available. The inflow estimates refer to migrants moving from the Republic of Ireland to the UK; the outflow estimates refer to those moving in the opposite direction; and the balance shows the net effect of these flows on the population of the UK. A migrant is defined as someone who changes his or her country of usual residence for a period of at least a year, so that the country of destination effectively becomes the country of usual residence.
	We are unable to provide estimates for Irish Travellers as a population subgroup as we have no means of identifying them in the data sources used to make international migration estimates.
	
		International migration between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland United Kingdom—Thousand
		
			 Time series 1999 to 2003 Inflow Outflow Balance 
		
		
			 1999 8.3 19.0 -10.7 
			 2000 5.8 16.0 -10.2 
			 2001 5.2 14.3 -9.1 
			 2002 5.1 13.1 -8.1 
			 2003 5.0 13.1 -8.1 
		
	
	Source:
	Estimates of migration between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland are made using data primarily from the Irish Quarterly National Household Survey. They are agreed between the Irish Central Statistics Office and ONS.

Income Tax (Pensioners)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the (a) number and (b) percentage of pensioner households paying income tax in the UK (i) in total and (ii) broken down by region and country of the UK in (A) 1997 and (B) 2004–05.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of (a) the number and (b) percentage of pensioner households paying income tax in (A) 1997 and (B) 2004–05 in the UK (i) in total and (ii) broken down by region and country is as follows.
	
		
			  (A) 1997–98 (B) 2004–05 
			  (a) Number (thousands) (b) Percentage (a) Number (thousands) (b) Percentage 
		
		
			 United Kingdom 2,880 47 3,360 55 
			 England 2,420 48 2,810 55 
			 North 175 44 215 54 
			 Yorks and The  Humber 230 41 280 50 
			 East Midlands 180 41 215 51 
			 West Midlands 230 43 255 49 
			 East Anglia 110 44 140 55 
			 Greater London 275 54 395 60 
			 South East 635 55 660 61 
			 South West 320 54 330 58 
			 Wales 175 46 185 55 
			 Scotland 250 46 300 55 
			 Northern Ireland 35 30 60 47 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. These figures have been estimated using HMT's tax and benefit model.
	2. They relate to single and couple households where at least the head of the household is at state pension age or above. The do not include multi-tax unit households.
	3. Figures for 2004–05 are based on the Family Resources Survey 2002–03; those for 1997–98 on the Expenditure and Food Surveys for 1995–96, 1996–97 and 1997–98.
	4. Regional figures are Standard Statistical Regions.
	5. All figures are rounded to nearest 5,000 households.

Red Diesel

Joan Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to extend the derogation for recreational boat users to buy red diesel under the European Energy Products Directive.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael) of 14 October 2004, Official Report, column 344W.

Teenage Pregnancies

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many teenage pregnancies there were in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each year since 2002.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Sarah Teather, dated 8 March 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many teenage pregnancies there were in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each year since 2002. (220181)
	The most recent year for which conception statistics are available is 2003. Figures for 2002 and 2003 are given in the attached table.
	
		Under 18 conceptions numbers and rates in London, 2002–03
		
			  2002 2 2003 2 
			 Area of usual residence Number of conceptions Conception rate(10) Number of conceptions Conception rate 
		
		
			 London 6,512 52.0 6,500 51.1 
			 Inner London 3,010 66.9 2,909 63.9 
			 Camden 135 49.3 136 48.7 
			 Hackney and City of London 303 75.3 276 69.3 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 137 62.0 117 51.7 
			 Haringey 313 79.3 291 71.0 
			 Islington 173 62.6 171 61.1 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 81 42.8 57 27.6 
			 Lambeth 406 99.6 429 104.9 
			 Lewisham 328 75.2 333 74.0 
			 Newham 333 57.9 305 55.2 
			 Southwark 335 81.2 351 86.8 
			 Tower Hamlets 187 46.5 173 42.9 
			 Wandsworth 184 64.4 168 58.8 
			 Westminster 95 43.2 102 41.5 
			  
			 Outer London 3,502 43.6 3,591 44.0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 236 73.3 220 71.9 
			 Barnet 192 33.6 177 30.7 
			 Bexley 172 40.1 180 41.2 
			 Brent 253 51.4 280 56.2 
			 Bromley 179 35.1 203 38.6 
			 Croydon 367 58.1 342 52.6 
			 Baling 185 34.8 204 38.0 
			 Enfield 292 55.6 304 57.5 
			 Greenwich 248 61.9 279 69.1 
			 Harrow 115 28.0 112 26.9 
			 Havering 150 36.7 150 35.9 
			 Hillingdon 210 46.8 225 48.4 
			 Hounslow 158 40.0 181 45.8 
			 Kingston upon Thames 68 27.5 80 30.8 
			 Merton 118 40.5 119 39.7 
			 Redbridge 155 33.5 150 32.2 
			 Richmond upon Thames 63 26.6 58 22.4 
			 Sutton 110 34.9 106 32.1 
			 Waltham Forest 231 58.0 221 55.4 
		
	
	(10) Rate per 1000 women aged 15–17
	(11) Provisional
	Note:
	To protect confidentiality of individuals figures for City of London have been combined with Hackney.

Alzheimer's Disease

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he intends to extend to Northern Ireland the recent National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommendations in relation to the withdrawal from the NHS of certain Alzheimer's drugs.

Angela Smith: Guidelines produced by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) are only applicable to England and Wales and do not currently extend to Northern Ireland, Following completion of the NICE consultation on recommendations on the use of these drugs and the issue of their Final Appraisal Determination, the Department will then consider what local implications, if any, these final recommendations might have.
	Clinical guidance on drugs and dementia, which is currently being produced by the locally based Clinical Resource Efficiency Support Team (CREST), will also be taken into account by the Department when considering local implications for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Ards Borough (Planning)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will set out the number of (a) planning applications which have come before Ards borough council (b) which have come before Ards borough council with recommendation for refusal, (c) the number of site meetings which have been requested by Ards borough councillors and (d) the number of applications which have been overturned and given approval, each year for the past six years.

Angela Smith: The information requested is as follows.
	
		
			  (a) Applications presented to Ards borough council 1 (b) Applications recommended for refusal (c) Number of site meetings requested 2 (d) Change of opinion to approval 
		
		
			 2000 859 304 (14)— 27 
			 2001 961 392 (14)— 48 
			 2002 1,023 327 (14)— 78 
			 2003 1,092 295 246 118 
			 2004 1,222 200 178 35 
		
	
	(12) For the years 2000–02 the figures have been collected electronically and as a result include deferred applications presented to council. For 2003 and 2004 a manual exercise was carried out and these figures relate to the number of planning applications taken to council with an initial opinion to refuse. Deferred applications are not included.
	(13) Information on the number of site meetings requested is not routinely collected and extracting the information for the period from 1999 to 2002 would be at a disproportionate cost.
	(14) Not available.
	It is only possible to provide answers to parts a, b and d of the question for the last five years, as the information for previous years is not held electronically by the planning service. Information for 1999 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	There is no correlation between the data within a specific year. The data refers to the year in which (columns B and C) applications were presented to council and column D the year that the final approval decision was taken by the planning service. It cannot be assumed that the number of applications overturned in one year is directly related to the number of applications presented to council with a recommendation to refuse. Neither can it be assumed that the number of site meeting requested relates to the number of applications overturned and given approval. Due to the complexity of the planning process it can be a considerable time between the receipt of an application and a final decision being taken.

Civil Servants (Political Activity)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what definition of political activity is given in guidance to Northern Ireland civil servants;
	(2)  what (a) guidelines and (b) restrictions are laid down for each grade of the Northern Ireland Civil Service in relation to (i) membership of a political party, (ii) holding office within a political party and (iii) other political activity.

Ian Pearson: Definitions of political activity are contained in paragraphs 965–66 of the Political Activities Section of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Pay and Conditions of Service Code.
	The guidelines and restrictions on political activity by Northern Ireland civil servants are contained in paragraphs 964 to 992 of the conduct section of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Pay and Conditions of Service Code. The restrictions are in place to ensure confidence in the impartial discharge of civil servants' duties, irrespective of the political persuasion of the Government of the day, while allowing staff the greatest possible freedom to participate in public affairs. The rules are concerned with political activities liable to give public expression to political views, rather than privately held beliefs and opinions.
	Copies of the relevant paragraphs have been placed in the Library.

Departmental Catering

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many departmental (a) canteens and (b) bars there are; and how much has been spent on the (i) running, (ii) staffing and (iii) supply costs of each in each year since 1997.

Ian Pearson: The Northern Ireland Office has one in-house canteen and makes a contribution to another facility paid for jointly with other Northern Ireland Departments. The Department does not have any bars.
	The costs of running the in-house facility for each year since 1998–99, including staffing and supply costs are detailed as follows. Our records for the years 1997–98 to 1999–2000 are not complete and therefore these costs have not been included.
	
		
			£ 
			  Total running cost Staff costs Supply costs 
		
		
			 2000–01 29,992 13,151 13,748 
			 2001–02 34,468 15,125 15,125 
			 2002–03 38,529 14,071 19,028 
			 2003–04 25,091 15,318 7,084 
		
	
	The contribution made to the costs of the private staff canteen facility was £57,810.00 in the year 2003–04. It would not be possible to extract the payments made in respect of this item from other payments relating to catering and hospitality for the years 1997–98 to 2002–03 except at disproportionate cost.
	This answer relates only to the Northern Ireland Office and does not include information in respect of the 11 departments of the Northern Ireland Administration.

Domestic Violence

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many non-molestation orders have been issued in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: I have been asked to reply.
	Non-molestation orders were introduced in April 1999 under Article 20 of the Family Homes and Domestic Violence (Northern Ireland) Order 1998. The figures show the number of non-molestation orders made each year since then.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1999 2,717 
			 2000 3,439 
			 2001 3,825 
			 2002 4,191 
			 2003 3,546 
			 2004 (17)3,286 
		
	
	(17) The 2004 figures are provisional and are subject to statistical validation.
	Prior to April 1999 personal protection and exclusion orders, granted under the Domestic Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1980, served a similar function. The figures show the number of these orders made between 1997 and 1999.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 4,132 
			 1998 4,139 
			 1999 1,665

Energy Costs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much each health trust in the Province spent on energy costs during the last year.

Angela Smith: Provisional figures for the Health and Social Services Trust expenditure on energy costs in the 2003–004 financial year are as follows.
	
		Expenditure on energy costs by HSS Trust 2003–04 (19) £000 (20)
		
			 Trust  
		
		
			 Altnagelvin HSS Trust 745 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 504 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 2,098 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 726 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital HSS Trust 1,033 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 226 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 1,165 
			 Foyle HSS Trust 613 
			 Green Park HSS Trust 655 
			 Homefirst HSS Trust 984 
			 Mater Infirmorum HSS Trust 428 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 583 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 850 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 2,267 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 881 
			 Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust 1,117 
			 Ulster Community and Hospital HSS Trust 1,168 
			 United HSS Trust 1,055 
			 Total Expenditure 17,098 
		
	
	(19) Provisional
	(20) Year ended March 2004
	Note:
	Premises energy costs include oil, gas, electricity and other fuels.

Illegal Cigarettes

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the value of illegal cigarettes traded in the Province in each of the last three years.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	HM Customs and Excise does not estimate the value of illegal cigarettes at a Northern Ireland level.
	The latest estimates of volume of illegal cigarettes for the UK as a whole is available in HM Customs and Excise's publication "Measuring and Tackling Indirect Tax Losses—2004," published alongside the Pre-Budget Report in December 2004, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.

Illegal Drugs

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his most recent estimate is of (a) the size of the trade in illegal drugs in the Province and (b) the amount of money received from that activity by (i) the Provisional IRA, (ii) the INLA, (iii) the Official IRA, (iv) the UDA, (v) the UVF and (vi) other criminal gangs in the last three years.

Ian Pearson: It is impossible to quantify the scale and total value of the trade in illegal drugs in Northern Ireland with any precision.
	This year's Organised Crime Task Force Threat Assessment, launched in May 2004, clearly indicated that the INLA, UDA, UVF and LVF are all involved in the trafficking and supply of illegal drugs. It is not clear however what proportion of the illegal profits is passed on to those organisations or retained by individuals themselves.
	The Independent Monitoring Commission's report of 4 November 2004 also provided an assessment of the criminal activities of paramilitary groups, including those involved in drugs dealing.

Murder Investigations

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of Police in Northern Ireland on the possible involvement of the Provisional IRA in the murders of (a) Mr McCartney in Belfast and (b) Mr McGinley in Londonderry.

Ian Pearson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland meets the chief constable and his security advisers on a regular basis to discuss a range of security matters.

Pensions

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how proposed Government pension scheme changes will impact on pension scheme members in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: It is assumed that this question is referring to the proposed changes to the pension schemes for civil servants, staff employed in the NHS and for teachers.
	The Government announced in June 2003 that it intended to proceed with a proposal to make the normal age of retirement for public service pensions schemes 65 rather than 60 and that it intended to proceed with this through reviews of those schemes.
	As a result, consultation on proposed changes for the main civil service pension scheme in Great Britain and the NHS and teachers schemes for England and Wales is currently underway. As the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme for Northern Ireland, the Health and Personal Social Services Superannuation Scheme, and the Teachers Superannuation Scheme in Northern Ireland operate on a principle of parity with these schemes, the normal approach would be to introduce similar changes for Northern Ireland staff.
	It is proposed that the new arrangements would take effect from April 2006, but that these would not be extended to existing staff before 2013. In addition, pension benefits earned before 2013 would be protected in full.

Provisional IRA

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his most recent assessment is of the scale of illegal distillation of spirits by the Provisional IRA in the Province.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	HM Customs and Excise has made no such assessment. The Northern Ireland Organised Crime Task Force's threat assessment and strategy document Confronting the Threat, which was published in May 2004, contains information on paramilitary involvement in organised crime. Copies of this document have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Provisional IRA

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Justice Minister of the Irish Republic following his statement in February that Gerry Adams MPMLA and Martin McGuinness MPMLA were members of the Army Council of the Provisional IRA.

Ian Pearson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland met with Mr. McDowell on 21 February at Hillsborough Castle for the signing of the Protocols between the PSNI and Garda Siochana, during which a number of matters were discussed. The Secretary of State also met with Mr. Ahern and Mr. McDowell at the recent British Irish Intergovernmental Conference where a variety of matters of mutual interest were discussed and these are included in the joint communiqué.

European Constitution

Kate Hoey: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how the commission intends to regulate organisations that would be permitted participants in the referendum on the EU constitution that are (a) partially or (b) wholly funded by institutions of the European Union.

Peter Viggers: By virtue of the provisions of section 117 of the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA), all participants who intend to spend over £10,000 campaigning in a referendum are required to register as 'permitted participants' with the Electoral Commission. Section 105 of the Act prohibits organisations that do not carry out their main business activities in the United Kingdom from being permitted participants.
	PPERA also prohibits an organisation which is not eligible to be a permitted participant from making donations to a permitted participant, unless the total value of its donations to that participant is less than £200.
	As regards the institutions of the European Union, I am informed by the Electoral Commission that it has already indicated that it does not regard the European Commission as falling into any of the categories of organisation that can be a permitted participant.
	The Electoral Commission will review the statutory returns submitted by permitted participants in order to ensure that they have complied with the requirements of the legislation.

Avian Flu

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to develop a vaccine to counter avian flu; and if she will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control has secured an isolate of the current avian influenza virus strain and has produced a candidate vaccine virus using "reverse genetics" technology for use should this be required.
	We are working closely with other countries, the World Health Organisation, the European Commission and manufacturers to ensure that a vaccine can be developed as quickly as possible after a pandemic flu strain emerges.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Management Committees of the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets for Sugar met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: On average the EU's Sugar Management Committee meets around 18 times during each presidency period. These meetings take place in Brussels on Thursday afternoons and are attended by officials from Defra and additionally, as necessary, by officials from other UK Agriculture Departments or the Rural Payments Agency.

Farm Waste Grants

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for replacement of the Farm Waste Grants Scheme.

Alun Michael: Defra are considering whether to replace the Farm Waste Grants Scheme which ends on 31 March 2006. The scheme was introduced in 1996 for a seven year period when the first Nitrate Vulnerable Zones were designated under the EC Nitrates Directive.
	New NVZ designations were made in October 2002 increasing the NVZ area in England from approximately 8 per cent. to 55 per cent. of the country. At the same time these designations were made, the 1996 scheme was extended to the new NVZs to assist farmers in meeting the manure handling and storage requirements under the NVZ Action programme. An announcement extending the scheme for a further two years was made on 30 September 2003.
	As part of the Rural Strategy, Defra is currently introducing simplified and streamlined funding arrangements that replace the plethora of existing grant schemes. The new funding framework will be centred around three major flexible funds based on Defra's strategic priorities of natural resource protection, sustainable farming and food and sustainable rural communities.

Sickness Absence

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what initiatives her Department is taking to reduce the numbers of sick days taken by staff in the Department.

Alun Michael: The Department is fully committed to the management of sickness absence and introduced a new Sickness Absence Management policy on 1 December 2004, which includes many of the best practices contained in the Report of the Joint Review by the Ministerial task Force for Health, Safety and Productivity and the Cabinet Office report on 'Managing Sickness Absence in the Public Sector' (November 2004). Defra's policy has the support of the Departmental Trade Unions and includes:
	Welcome back discussions between line managers and staff returning from sickness absence, on each occasion of absence.
	Prompts for action sent to managers when staff have accumulated 15 and 30 days sickness absence in a rolling 12 month period.
	Dedicated professional advice from Human Resources to managers dealing with sickness absence cases.
	Occupational Health referral options for managers who are concerned about the attendance of their staff.
	The Department is also introducing a new electronic Human Resources Management system, which will produce real time management information on sickness absence.
	Defra is supporting the recommendations made in the 'Managing sickness absence in the public sector' report, by taking part in a trial of more sensitive arrangements for the use of special/compassionate leave.

Aircraft Crashes

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the complete RAF Board of Inquiry into the crash of RAF Harrier aircraft GR7 ZG475 on 1 June 1995;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the complete RAF Board of Inquiry into the crash of RAF Tornado F3 ZH558 on 8 July 1994;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the complete RAF Board of Inquiry into the crash of a RAF Chinook HC1 helicopter ZA721 on 27 February 1987.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Camp Bucca

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the performance of the Prisoner of War Registration Unit and the Prisoner Monitoring Team at Camp Bucca in ensuring that the UK met its obligations under the Geneva Convention.

Adam Ingram: The Independent Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the recognised international authority to scrutinise procedures and organisations within detention facilities in Iraq. The ICRC visited Camp Bucca during the period that it contained some internees for which the United Kingdom was responsible and we understand that they were content that UK obligations under the Geneva convention were met.

Defence Service Agencies (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for each financial year since 1997–98 the Ministry of Defence police spent in Scotland (a) in monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The information requested is shown as follows:
	
		
			£ million 
			  Personnel budget Spend in Scotland Percentage of budget 
		
		
			 1997–98 134.396 31.887 24 
			 1998–99 130.135 27.382 21 
			 1999–2000 139.132 32.777 24 
			 2000–01 135.995 32.826 24 
			 2001–02 134.682 36.790 27 
			 2002–03 135.914 33.273 25 
			 2003–04 143.406 34.427 24 
		
	
	The number of MOD Police Agency personnel employed in Scotland in each financial year since 1997–98 is shown as follows:
	
		
			  MOD Police Agency personnel employed in Scotland 
		
		
			 April 1997 960 
			 April 1998 890 
			 April 1999 890 
			 April 2000 890 
			 April 2001 870 
			 April 2002 840 
			 April 2003 820 
			 April 2004 1,120 
			 January 2005 1,310

Defence Spending (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for financial years (a) 2001–02, (b) 2000–01, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 1998–99 and (e) 1997–98 the Defence Bills Agency spent in Scotland (i) in monetary terms and (ii) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Bills Agency is based in Liverpool. It had no staff based in Scotland in 1997–98,1998–99,1999–2000, 2000–01 or 2001–02.
	Both Civilian and Service personnel data by Agency are collated annually at 1 April and presented in Table 2.6 of UK Defence Statistics, a copy of which is held in the Library of the House. Further information on personnel figures is available on the DASA website at www.dasa.mod.uk

Iraq

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much block leave is allocated to units (a) prior to an operational tour of Iraq and (b) on return from Iraq.

Ivor Caplin: There is no established regulation on the provision of 'block leave' prior to deployment on an operational tour. Many units do work a 'block leave' system in which the unit will stand-down as a whole. These periods may take place at the discretion of the commanding officer before an operational tour, providing they do not conflict with the interests of the service and that there is sufficient time prior to deployment for leave to be taken.
	Post operational tour leave and post operational detachment leave were introduced in recognition of the stresses and strains that operational deployments bring to both an individual and their family and friends. The general entitlement for all personnel returning from a tour in Iraq of six months is a minimum of 20 working days leave. However, the breakdown of this entitlement between additional post-operational leave and an individual's annual leave entitlement differs between the three services.

Near Air Misses (Worcestershire)

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an assessment on the safety of the Royal Air Force training flight path over the Air Ambulance Heliport at Strensham in Worcestershire.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 3 March 2005
	There is no flight training path over or near the site of the Heliport at Strensham. The Strensham location lies within the UK low flying system and Class G airspace, within which the internationally recognised principle of "see and avoid" operates. Additionally, the site of the heliport is marked on low flying charts as a warning to pilots that helicopters are operating from there.

Shoeburyness Ranges

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has evaluated on the work carried out using radioactive materials at the Shoeburyness ranges as part of the original nuclear weapons programme; and what reports he has received on releases of radioactive material at the Shoeburyness ranges as part of the original nuclear weapons programme.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence has just commenced a Land Quality Assessment (LQA) of the entire Shoeburyness site. It is expected that appropriate assessments of any historic radioactive contamination associated with the use of radioactive materials in support of the nuclear weapons programme will be conducted and reported upon as necessary as the LQA progresses. This work will build upon a Land Quality Statement, compiled in 1997, relating to areas of the Shoeburyness site formerly used for research in support of the nuclear weapons programme. The broad history of the part of Shoeburyness (AWE Foulness) formally used for these purposes is available in the report (ISSN 1478–7008) of a desk-top investigation published by English Heritage in 2004.

Advertising Regulations (Lettings)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister in which areas special exemptions from the Control of Advertising Regulations have been requested to allow controls on letting boards for rented property; in which areas exemptions were granted; and for what reasons.

Keith Hill: Since May 2002 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister received requests for directions restricting deemed consent for the display of estate agents' boards from Westminster city council, Brighton and Hove city council, Charnwood borough council and Leeds city council. All directions were granted under regulation 7 of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992, except for the direction for Leeds city council. We are currently considering the council's latest application. The directions that have been granted were to protect the visual amenity of residential areas of special quality from persistently high numbers of estate agents' boards and because there was no other way to effectively control the display of estate agents' boards.

Local Government Finance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) amount and (b) proportion of local government revenue was accounted for by (i) revenue support grant, (ii) other grants and funds, (iii) national non-domestic rates and (iv) council tax in (A) England and (B) each council tax levying authority in England in 2004–05.

Nick Raynsford: The information requested has been made available in the Library of the House.

London Parks

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much each London borough council spent on maintaining London parks in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: The amount each London borough council spent on parks and open spaces in each year since 1997 is tabled as follows:
	
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Greater London Authority — — — 0 0 0 1,649 1,814 
			 City of London 1,392 1,304 1,245 1,170 1,218 1,332 1,384 1,475 
			 Camden 1,462 1,587 1,446 1,565 1,808 2,025 2,476 2,520 
			 Greenwich 4,793 4,779 4,184 3,601 3,703 3,776 4,026 4,272 
			 Hackney 5,860 4,860 3,971 3,616 2,231 2,820 3,480 3,763 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 4,206 3,764 3,458 3,179 4,387 4,277 4,304 2,559 
			 Islington 3,131 3,397 3,616 3,492 3,363 3,327 2,155 3,882 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,940 1,923 1,990 2,245 2,318 2,523 2,689 2,784 
			 Lambeth 4,948 4,728 5,164 4,952 4,955 5,235 5,870 5,554 
			 Lewisham 2,281 2,368 2,230 2,349 2,979 4,173 3,170 3,747 
			 Southwark 6,448 5,936 6,049 5,202 5,232 6,250 5,971 6,248 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,496 3,709 3,909 4,488 4,557 4,554 4,831 4,946 
			 Wandsworth 3,789 3,861 3,909 4,267 4,396 4,940 4,517 4,473 
			 Westminster 2,498 2,639 2,341 1,993 2,187 2,075 2,070 2,004 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,575 2,708 2,789 2,850 3,119 3,289 3,476 3,590 
			 Barnet 2,942 3,041 3,095 3,237 3,028 4,244 4,034 4,269 
			 Bexley 2,859 2,743 2,644 2,677 2,798 2,992 2,956 3,397 
			 Brent 1,970 1,926 1,813 1,957 2,277 2,350 2,545 2,925 
			 Bromley 6,103 6,397 6,229 5,785 5,656 4,887 4,839 5,898 
			 Croydon 4,656 3,761 4,131 4,600 5,574 4,400 4,614 4,220 
			 Ealing 4,416 3,963 4,779 4,592 4,840 7,067 6,960 8,156 
			 Enfield 3,300 3,971 4,019 4,245 4,355 4,439 4,611 4,618 
			 Haringey 2,036 1,882 1,953 2,040 2,463 2,494 2,732 2,739 
			 Harrow 1,624 1,259 1,318 1,706 1,703 1,796 2,678 2,586 
			 Havering 1,615 2,220 2,201 2,008 1,933 1,927 2,082 1,897 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,378 1,440 1,398 1,537 1,806 1,779 1,315 1,363 
			 Merton 2,383 2,423 2,419 2,530 2,756 2,750 2,470 2,738 
			 Newham 3,521 3,289 3,325 3,641 3,816 4,156 4,016 4,320 
			 Redbridge 2,169 2,333 2,267 2,343 3,222 3,020 3,133 3,404 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,089 2,115 2,251 2,456 2,100 2,343 2,418 2,229 
			 Sutton 2,135 2,119 1,932 1,870 2,797 2,424 2,020 2,371 
			 Waltham Forest 2,364 2,335 2,164 2,771 2,144 1,801 2,265 2,667 
		
	
	All figures are shown in £000s and the amounts are as reported by the local authority.
	The data are taken from outturn figures for 1997–98 to 2002–03 and budget estimates for 2003–04 and 2004–05.
	Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changing local authority responsibilities.
	Figures for Hounslow and Hillingdon are not separately identifiable from other costs and are not included in this table.

Plea Bargaining

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Government will bring forward amendments to the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill to ensure that plea bargaining will be exercised in a way that minimises the risk of miscarriages of justice.

Caroline Flint: The Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill includes building on the existing common law provisions relating to Queen's Evidence. Placing it on a statutory footing is intended to increase the use of Queen's Evidence while minimising the risk of miscarriages of justice. The Bill's provisions will increase the transparency of the process and provide for those who get a reduction in their sentence to be re-sentenced if subsequently it is discovered their co-operation was not genuine, both of which are significant additional safeguards.

Police

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the pay and conditions of police officers.

Hazel Blears: The Government's plans for police reform are set out in the White Paper "Building Communities, Beating Crime". Chapter 4 of this paper contains our proposals for police workforce reform including those relating to police officers.

Prison Officers

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether instructional officers in Her Majesty's prisons who have not signed up to the new contract are required to carry out escort duties in any prison.

Paul Goggins: No. One of the new terms and conditions introduced on 1 April 2003 for instructional officers, was that "instructional officers will escort prisoners as required by management once the activity has been risk assessed and a safe system of work applied". The terms and conditions for those instructional officers who decided not to accept the changes to working practices remain unchanged.

Prisoners (Activities)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average amount of time spent on purposeful activity per week broken down by individual prison has been in each year since 1997.

Charles Clarke: The average number of weekly purposeful activity hours for each establishment during each of the financial years since 1996–97 is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Establishment 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 to January 
		
		
			 Acklington 25.6 25.5 23.8 23.8 23.5 23.2 23.6 24.4 24.4 
			 Albany 18.8 24.0 23.8 19.2 23.5 24.2 21.6 22.2 20.6 
			 Altcourse n/a 24.6 20.5 25.5 32.9 34.3 32.7 34.4 36.8 
			 Ashfield n/a n/a n/a 24.0 28.3 27.1 25.7 29.3 31.1 
			 Ashwell 33.0 32.6 33.3 30.8 31.1 31.7 29.2 31.0 30.5 
			 Askham Grange 39.3 41.8 42.0 41.6 41.2 41.1 41.0 41.4 41.4 
			 Aylesbury 25.5 22.6 20.9 18.4 15.7 17.4 17.8 19.1 20.5 
			 Bedford 26.5 25.6 22.7 22.9 20.9 19.8 17.7 18.1 19.9 
			 Belmarsh 12.7 11.8 13.2 12.8 13.3 11.0 11.3 14.6 16.2 
			 Birmingham 12.8 10.9 13.3 15.2 16.0 19.3 19.9 18.8 18.2 
			 Blakenhurst 23.2 20.1 21.8 22.1 23.3 18.9 19.6 19.1 20.2 
			 Blantyre House 33.0 34.2 39.5 43.6 47.6 49.0 40.7 40.5 44.3 
			 Blundeston 21.7 23.2 25.8 24.5 26.2 25.8 23.1 21.9 24.9 
			 Brinsford 17.1 15.3 16.3 16.8 21.9 27.5 26.1 28.7 28.7 
			 Bristol 19.6 20.1 21.3 20.9 22.6 21.1 21.3 22.3 21.3 
			 Brixton 16.0 17.1 15.7 11.1 15.6 16.6 12.7 10.4 15.4 
			 Brockhill 31.4 30.7 21.1 18.2 20.8 18.2 16.1 18.1 23.1 
			 Buckley Hall 28.5 32.8 26.6 31.7 31.8 30.3 26.8 30.8 31.2 
			 Bullingdon 23.6 20.9 21.2 14.4 14.6 13.8 13.7 17.5 18.6 
			 Bullwood Hall 24.7 21.6 19.0 19.6 21.5 27.2 27.9 27.7 28.2 
			 Camp Hill 26.1 20.9 19.3 19.9 22.0 21.4 19.3 19.1 21.6 
			 Canterbury 20.6 17.5 18.5 19.9 19.6 18.0 17.4 21.9 22.1 
			 Cardiff 22.4 22.0 21.3 20.6 23.6 20.4 19.1 21.5 24.1 
			 Castington 22.3 23.4 20.7 19.8 24.6 25.1 21.9 22.9 28.0 
			 Channings Wood 25.3 29.6 30.5 34.9 33.6 33.5 31.2 28.6 27.5 
			 Chelmsford 18.2 16.0 15.8 16.8 18.2 18.8 15.4 15.8 19.5 
			 Coldingley 33.1 38.1 40.7 43.8 40.9 38.2 35.3 34.0 35.0 
			 Cookham Wood 24.9 23.6 22.3 24.4 24.2 22.0 23.0 22.5 25.4 
			 Dartmoor 19.4 18.8 18.9 19.9 18.0 21.6 20.9 23.3 24.8 
			 Deerbolt 21.7 21.7 19.9 21.1 21.4 21.1 19.9 20.5 23.1 
			 Doncaster 24.0 16.7 17.0 18.3 19.1 20.1 19.6 19.6 20.6 
			 Dorchester 19.3 16.2 14.4 19.5 17.2 15.7 18.2 17.6 16.3 
			 Dovegate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 27.5 25.7 25.5 21.6 
			 Dover 23.2 21.7 21.2 23.4 25.2 27.3 22.5 n/a n/a 
			 Downview 28.7 31.5 30.8 29.8 30.5 23.7 24.7 23.2 28.9 
			 Drake Hall 35.9 35.1 34.9 35.9 35.8 35.8 33.5 33.3 35.3 
			 Durham 17.6 16.7 20.2 18.7 19.8 20.3 19.1 18.0 17.7 
			 East Sutton Park 37.3 38.4 40.1 40.1 41.2 42.0 43.1 46.4 46.0 
			 Eastwood Park 21.7 19.7 21.6 21.6 23.6 19.4 18.8 17.9 18.6 
			 Edmunds Hill n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 21.0 26.1 
			 Elmley 19.8 19.0 20.2 21.8 21.6 18.6 18.6 20.6 19.0 
			 Erlestoke 28.4 29.0 27.2 28.4 26.8 27.9 27.1 25.5 26.6 
			 Everthorpe 23.5 25.8 27.0 26.3 27.1 28.0 31.6 28.1 25.1 
			 Exeter 18.9 17.9 13.6 15.0 23.0 22.9 21.6 22.5 23.2 
			 Featherstone 24.9 23.7 24.7 26.1 24.3 24.2 24.4 23.0 22.1 
			 Feltham 20.0 19.6 15.5 15.2 14.4 24.7 22.3 28.1 28.5 
			 Ford 34.6 33.7 35.6 38.8 38.3 39.8 39.4 37.6 38.1 
			 Forest Bank n/a n/a n/a 18.5 27.5 21.7 19.2 20.9 23.5 
			 Foston Hall — 21.3 23.4 25.7 25.4 25.4 25.3 24.5 24.1 
			 Frankland 18.1 17.0 18.4 19.4 21.3 20.9 21.6 22.2 21.9 
			 Full Sutton 22.1 18.0 17.6 18.7 17.8 17.4 16.8 19.0 19.8 
			 Garth 19.5 21.0 21.3 21.2 23.7 23.4 23.4 24.2 23.7 
			 Gartree 23.2 26.5 27.0 28.4 30.1 30.5 28.9 30.5 28.6 
			 Glen Parva 18.8 16.5 16.7 16.0 18.3 18.2 17.9 17.4 18.0 
			 Gloucester 22.7 20.6 26.4 29.4 29.5 20.5 16.2 20.2 20.2 
			 Grendon 32.1 33.3 34.2 35.2 37.2 35.6 33.4 32.5 31.6 
			 Guys Marsh 30.8 30.9 22.8 27.9 26.5 22.6 22.7 22.4 24.5 
			 Haslar 25.6 21.4 18.8 16.1 16.7 15.2 15.0 15.4 16.4 
			 Hatfield 39.5 37.2 32.5 40.6 36.7 37.1 38.4 n/a n/a 
			 Haverigg 35.0 33.8 33.9 33.8 33.6 31.1 30.4 29.9 29.3 
			 Hewell Grange 41.6 41.2 42.7 41.8 44.3 42.6 41.1 42.1 42.0 
			 High Down 17.5 15.7 13.9 16.4 15.8 15.9 14.1 15.2 14.4 
			 Highpoint 16.1 17.7 23.2 20.9 18.9 18.9 18.0 19.9 20.2 
			 Hindley 19.0 20.1 23.8 24.0 28.6 20.5 34.9 34.5 32.2 
			 Hollesley Bay 27.3 28.1 28.1 33.8 36.2 36.5 32.6 38.3 42.8 
			 Holloway 17.6 18.7 17.6 15.4 21.9 20.3 15.8 16.9 20.2 
			 Holme House 16.0 16.0 15.8 16.6 16.6 15.5 14.4 15.8 16.7 
			 Hull 20.6 18.6 20.1 22.5 21.9 20.5 15.3 15.8 16.0 
			 Huntercombe 25.6 25.1 23.8 26.3 23.9 26.7 26.5 30.1 30.0 
			 Kingston 28.1 28.6 23.S 23.9 24.2 24.3 23.3 25.1 26.0 
			 Kirkham 48.3 54.8 43.5 44.3 43.7 43.4 41.3 40.4 41.7 
			 Kirklevington 45.1 48.8 50.1 52.5 54.3 51.6 53.0 51.7 53.8 
			 Lancaster 22.6 22.7 20.7 23.2 28.7 24.9 22.9 23.7 25.7 
			 Lancaster Farms 23.1 22.4 20.5 20.6 22.5 22.6 23.3 26.1 25.8 
			 Latchmere House 72.2 72.8 70.2 74.1 63.6 61.2 55.6 57.6 59.4 
			 Leeds 16.8 15.5 14.8 14.5 16.5 18.7 17.5 18.1 21.7 
			 Leicester 21.3 21.4 20.5 19.3 19.0 21.0 21.4 23.1 23.2 
			 Lewes 22.2 18.5 18.5 18.8 18.0 18.6 19.5 21.0 21.6 
			 Leyhill 38.5 38.5 39.0 38.8 39.0 37.8 39.1 37.9 37.5 
			 Lincoln 18.1 19.6 22.9 24.9 24.5 18.6 18.3 19.3 20.9 
			 Lindholme 25.7 25.3 24.2 26.9 26.7 27.7 24.3 25.9 27.0 
			 Littlehey 30.6 29.8 26.0 25.5 23.5 23.1 21.5 20.2 20.5 
			 Liverpool 18.0 16.5 18.7 22.6 22.9 17.7 14.0 18.6 22.3 
			 Long Lartin 18.8 15.6 17.0 16.5 17.8 18.3 18.5 15.7 19.5 
			 Low Newton 23.7 21.7 20.2 25.5 25.1 23.7 23.9 24.6 24.9 
			 Lowdham Grange n/a n/a 25.3 24.7 24.0 27.2 27.5 26.8 26.8 
			 Maidstone 20.8 22.5 21.3 22.3 21.7 21.0 17.6 19.1 21.4 
			 Manchester 20.6 29.4 26.7 22.2 19.4 19.7 19.8 19.6 19.4 
			 Moorland 22.9 25.3 24.0 23.1 24.7 25.0 25.3 27.6 28.1 
			 Morton Hall 39.9 39.1 37.8 41.4 41.7 30.7 32.0 31.9 31.3 
			 Mount 19.2 18.4 18.0 18.6 18.3 20.0 19.7 20.4 21.8 
			 New Hall 26.8 22.9 23.8 23.1 23.5 22.9 24.1 23.5 24.9 
			 North Sea Camp 42.5 42.4 45.1 41.0 42.3 42.2 41.8 40.4 39.5 
			 Northallerton 16.3 14.7 14.S 17.6 18.8 22.1 23.3 22.3 24.9 
			 Norwich 15.1 18.1 18.0 19.2 20.0 18.9 17.4 17.9 21.6 
			 Nottingham 23.4 18.1 15.3 20.6 18.3 17.2 18.1 19.2 20.7 
			 Onley 20.5 20.0 18.4 17.4 18.6 18.0 23.0 28.1 26.3 
			 Parc n/a n/a 30.0 36.2 25.3 26.8 24.4 26.3 31.1 
			 Parkhurst 17.8 20.1 19.5 21.5 20.5 19.1 15.2 20.3 21.3 
			 Pentonville 17.8 19.6 20.3 20.4 17.8 15.0 14.1 14.1 13.1 
			 Portland 27.1 29.4 23.1 22.8 23.4 24.5 23.2 20.9 19.1 
			 Preston 20.5 17.4 17.1 16.8 21.6 21.1 19.8 21.1 20.9 
			 Ranby 29.3 30.2 26.4 25.8 25.4 23.6 24.1 25.1 25.4 
			 Reading 26.8 24.2 23.8 31.7 29.2 24.4 19.3 18.3 22.5 
			 Risley 23.8 22.7 21.9 22.3 23.8 25.2 22.7 23.7 24.3 
			 Rochester 20.7 18.7 19.1 17.5 21.5 23.0 22.7 20.2 23.1 
			 Rye Hill n/a n/a n/a n/a 26.0 29.4 28.5 28.5 27.5 
			 Send 34.0 35.1 40.6 31.6 31.7 31.4 30.0 30.6 29.9 
			 Shepton Mallet 25.5 23.7 22.7 20.7 23.6 23.0 23.5 24.6 24.4 
			 Shrewsbury 21.1 21.4 22.7 23.2 24.9 23.8 17.8 19.5 20.0 
			 Stafford 25.6 25.0 22.4 24.8 26.5 26.4 26.3 24.1 24.7 
			 Standford Hill 43.9 43.7 44.1 39.7 41.0 39.7 39.8 38.1 37.0 
			 Stocken 27.8 27.1 23.2 22.1 23.2 23.2 26.1 26.0 25.2 
			 Stoke Heath 27.9 21.6 21.6 22.5 24.4 25.8 20.4 21.8 23.2 
			 Styal 29.5 28.6 28.7 21.7 24.3 24.9 21.9 21.0 23.7 
			 Sudbury 46.2 47.2 44.5 43.4 41.7 41.5 42.0 42.0 41.3 
			 Swaleside 20.3 22.0 22.3 21.3 25.2 24.4 24.4 27.2 24.8 
			 Swansea 16.1 15.0 20.0 20.8 22.4 22.0 19.7 21.1 23.0 
			 Swinfen Hall 25.0 25.5 28.9 30.7 28.9 28.0 27.2 28.7 25.0 
			 Thorn Cross 50.5 50.3 50.3 45.3 42.7 43.9 42.7 42.8 43.3 
			 Usk·Prescoed 35.7 35.5 34.9 37.5 38.8 37.9 37.1 35.9 35.9 
			 Verne 30.6 30.9 27.2 30.9 27.6 28.4 31.6 30.9 31.4 
			 Wakefield 17.8 17.8 18.2 20.0 19.0 18.2 18.0 16.0 16.8 
			 Wandsworth 23.5 22.0 18.9 18.4 18.1 17.1 16.7 16.8 16.2 
			 Warren Hill n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 26.2 22.3 
			 Wayland 25.4 24.6 24.0 24.0 23.3 20.8 24.7 24.8 26.2 
			 Wealstun 35.9 33.7 30.6 32.9 32.8 32.6 32.5 33.0 29.5 
			 Weare n/a 19.6 20.8 20.7 19.9 18.8 17.8 18.6 19.9 
			 Wellingborough 26.2 25.1 24.9 25.0 25.3 28.1 25.0 22.6 22.6 
			 Werrington 38.7 36.5 24.0 37.9 37.1 32.6 30.1 27.3 30.0 
			 Wetherby 35.9 29.5 28.3 27.9 26.6 27.1 28.9 29.1 27.8 
			 Whatton 31.9 30.6 28.8 29.9 29.9 30.7 29.8 29.8 31.8 
			 Whitemoor 20.3 18.5 19.6 21.4 21.6 20.2 20.6 21.2 21.3 
			 Winchester 17.7 17.2 15.7 15.2 16.8 19.0 18.8 20.4 22.1 
			 Wolds 30.8 31.0 29.1 28.9 28.5 28.3 28.7 29.2 29.7 
			 Woodhill 22.6 20.9 19.8 17.9 17.6 16.0 16.2 15.4 16.0 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 14.4 13.6 14.2 19.3 21.3 18.5 14.6 18.4 22.2 
			 Wymott 33.7 34.4 28.7 29.8 27.3 27.7 28.3 30.9 28.4 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Moorland and Hatfield merged in 2003–04.
	2. Highpoint and Edmunds Hill began reporting separately in 2003–04.
	3. Hollesley Bay and Warren Hill began reporting separately in 2003–04.

Terrorism

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to combat the terrorist threat posed by United Kingdom citizens.

Charles Clarke: With the exception of the powers in Part 4 of the Anti- Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, which are immigration powers applicable to foreign nationals, counter terrorism measures are aimed at terrorists, whatever their background, section of society or nationality they may come from.
	The Home Office provides the law-enforcement and security agencies with the powers and funding they need to do their job. There are two main pieces of legislation which they use to fight terrorism: the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 These Acts deliver UK-wide legislation that is effective in countering the threat we face from terrorism. The legislation includes measures to outlaw membership, support and fundraising for terrorist groups, seizure of terrorist cash and property, the creation of offences specific to terrorism at home and abroad, and special powers for terrorist investigations.
	The Home Secretary introduced on 22 February a Bill—The Prevention of Terrorism Bill which contains new proposals for preventative control orders which are intended to disrupt and restrict individual's involvement in terrorist related activities. We are also looking at the scope for new terrorist related offences and other measures to bring suspected terrorists to justice. My hope is that we will be able to bring further legislative proposals on this as soon as time allows.
	The Government have provided resources to finance a 50 per cent. increase in the size of the Security Service over the next three years. The bulk of these extra resources will go into counter- terrorism work. In 2005–06 dedicated ring fenced counter terrorism funding for the police service in England and Wales, including the Metropolitan police service, will amount to £96 million revenue and £8 million capital. This is very nearly double the amount of the first dedicated counter-terrorism grants in 2002–03.
	Combating the threat posed by terrorism does of course go beyond funding and legislation and it is important that we continue to build and develop partnerships at every level in accordance with our overall strategy—to prevent terrorism, to pursue terrorist networks, to protect the UK, its citizens and its critical infrastructure, and to plan for attacks in order to minimise their consequences. Our objective remains to reduce the threat from terrorism so that our people may continue to go about their business freely and with confidence.

Ticket Sales

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of convictions in 2004 for ticket touting at football matches.

Paul Goggins: Information from the Home Office court proceedings database shows that in 2003, 74 individuals were found guilty of ticket touting at football matches in accordance with section 166 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which makes it an offence for "an unauthorized person to sell, or offer or expose for sale, a ticket for a designated football match in any public place or place to which the public has access or, in the course of a trade or business, in any other place".
	Statistics on convictions for 2004 will be published this autumn.

Under-age Driving

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last reviewed penalties for under-age driving; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The available information is contained in the table and gives the number of juveniles convicted of offences involving driving a motor vehicle in England and Wales, 2003.
	Statistics on court proceedings for 2004 will be published in the autumn.
	
		Number of juveniles found guilty at all courts for offences involving driving a motor vehicle, England and Wales 2003 1,2
		
			 Offence description Principal statute Found guilty 
		
		
			 Manslaughter by driving Common Law and Offences against the Person Act 1861 SS5, 9 and 10 10 
			 Causing death by dangerous driving Road Traffic Act 1988 S1 as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 S1 and CJA 1993S 67 11 
			 Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs Road Traffic Act 1988 S 3A as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 S3 and CJA 1993 S67 1 
			 Causing bodily harm by furious driving Offences against the Person Act 1861 S35 2 
			 Aggravated taking of a vehicle Theft Act 1968 S 12A as added by the Aggravated Vehicle Taking Act 1992 S1 1,684 
			 Theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle Theft Act 1968 S1 281 
			 Unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle or being carried knowing vehicle to have been taken or driven Theft Act 1968 S 12A as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 1988 S37 2,987 
			 Aggravated taking of a vehicle Theft Act 1968 S 12A as added by the Aggravated Vehicle Taking Act 1992 S2 649 
			 Dangerous Driving Road Traffic Act 1988 S2 as amended by Road Traffic Act 1991 S2 799 
			 Driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs Road Traffic Act 1988 various sections 1,556 
			 Careless driving Road Traffic Act 1988 S4(1), 4(2) 618 
			 Accident offences Road Traffic Act 1988 S 170(4) 316 
			 Driving licence related offences Various sections under the Road Traffic Act 1988 , Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1996 Reg 16, Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 S 66(a), Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 S 27(3) 3,466 
			 Speed limit offences Various sections under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984, Motor Vehicles (Speed Units on Motorways) Regs 1973, Parks Regulations (Amendment) Act 1926 216 
			 Motorway offences (other than speeding) Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 S 17(4), Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 10 
			 Neglect of traffic directions Various section under the Road Traffic Act 1988, Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1994 and Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 107 
		
	
	(21) These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(22) Juveniles being between 10 and 17 years old.

Businesses

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses ceased trading in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

Nigel Griffiths: Barclays Bank's latest survey of business creations and closures includes non-VAT registered firms and shows that there were 291,000 business closures in England and Wales in 2003, a 16 per cent. decrease on the year before. A further 249,000 businesses closed down in England and Wales in the first nine months of 2004. This represents an increase of 15 per cent. on the first nine months of 2003. Closure data are not available for the UK, regions, local authorities or parliamentary constituencies.
	DTI figures based solely on VAT de-registrations for Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside, the North East and the UK are shown in the table for 1997 to 2003. Data for 2004 will be available in autumn 2005.
	
		
			  Jarrow South Tyneside North East United Kingdom 
		
		
			 1997 95 165 3,885 148,230 
			 1998 70 130 3,850 149,115 
			 1999 90 150 3,870 153,400 
			 2000 100 180 3,760 156,440 
			 2001 90 160 4,035 152,840 
			 2002 110 195 4,035 163,920 
			 2003 95 180 4,010 174,355 
		
	
	Source:
	(South Tyneside, North East, United Kingdom): VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994–2003, Small Business Service, available from: www.sbs.gov.uk/statistics/analytical/vatstats.php
	Source:
	(Jarrow): Inter-Departmental Business Register, adjusted by Small Business Service to be consistent with published VAT Registrations and De-registrations
	VAT registration and de-registration data do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register will not necessarily have closed. Only 1.8 million out of 4 million enterprises were registered for VAT at the start of 2003.

Solar Photovoltaics

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to ensure continuity of support to the UK solar PV industry when grant allocations under her Department's solar PV Major Demonstration Programme comes to an end later this year.

Mike O'Brien: The Major PV Demonstration Programme is due to end in March 2006. Grants are expected to be paid up to March 2007.
	The Department will continue its support for PV through a "low carbon buildings" programme. The low carbon buildings programme is currently under development and there will be formal consultation on this later this year. The programme is expected to begin operating in 2006–07.

St. Helena

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with Shelco regarding its proposal to build (a) an airport and (b) other infrastructure requirements on St. Helena; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: I met with Shelco representatives on 8 September 2004. There have also been discussions between Shelco and the St. Helena Government. All investor interest in St. Helena is welcome and will be considered on an equal footing.

St. Helena

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the level of public funding necessary to sustain St. Helena in the next 10 years (a) without an airport and (b) with an airport; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of St. Helena's potential for earning income from tourism (a) without an airport and (b) with an airport; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the potential for St. Helena to attract tourists from (a) France, (b) the United States of America and (c) the United Kingdom if an airport is built on the Island; and what assessment he has made of the implications for UK support to St. Helena of an increase in tourism on the island.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Data of the kind requested, but not necessarily in this exact form, has been compiled for an analysis of three shortlisted access options which is under consideration. The outcome will be announced, in consultation with the St. Helena Government, just as soon as it is possible to do so. At that stage, in keeping with our previous practice for material prepared to shortlist the options, we shall consider publication as appropriate.

St. Helena

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much public funding has been made available to St. Helena in each year since 1997.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID bilateral disbursements for St. Helena in the financial years 1997–98 to 2003–04 were as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year £000 
		
		
			 1997–98 8,384 
			 1998–99 8,594 
			 1999–2000 9,185 
			 2000–01 9,968 
			 2001–02 9,833 
			 2002–03 9,343 
			 2003–04 10,419 
		
	
	St. Helena also receives some assistance from the FCO Good Governance Fund and FCO Economic Diversification Programme. Those disbursements were as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			  Disbursements 
		
		
			 1997–98 211 
			 1998–99 163 
			 1999–2000 231 
			 2000–01 212 
			 2001–02 321 
			 2002–03 436 
			 2003–04 260 
		
	
	In addition, over the same period, allocations totalling some €14.35 million (around £9.5 million) were made to St. Helena by the European Commission (EC), of which the UK share was about 13 per cent. Disbursement of the EC allocations is on going.

Child Poverty

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to achieve the Government's targets of (a) ending child poverty by 2020 and (b) halving it by 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: holding answer 2 March 2005
	Our first step towards eradicating child poverty as set out in our current Public Service Agreement target is to reduce the number of children in low-income households by a quarter by 2004–05.
	The sixth annual "Opportunity for all" report (Cm 6239), published in September 2004 is available in the Library and sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion; the Government's child poverty strategy is clearly outlined in the Treasury's Child Poverty Review published with the 2004 Spending Review.

Disability Rights Commission

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the latest recommendations of the Disability Rights Commission with regard to employment are; and how his Department intends to implement them.

Maria Eagle: The Disability Rights Commission made a range of proposals and recommendations concerning employment in "Disability Equality: Making it happen—First Review of the Disability Discrimination Act". The majority of these were implemented through the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 which came into force on 1 October 2004 and we indicated in our response to the commission's review that the remaining recommendations were for possible future consideration.
	The following table sets out the commission's proposals and recommendations concerning employment issues and the Government's position.
	
		Disability equality: making it happen—first review of the Disability Discrimination Act
		
			 DRC proposal Government position 
			 Disability Rights Commission Proposals  
		
		
			 The DDA should apply to practical work experience and to examining bodies Practical work experience and many types of examining bodies were covered in DDA Amendment Regulations 2003. Note: The Disability Discrimination Bill currently before Parliament will bring general qualifications bodies within the scope of the Disability Discrimination Act. 
			 The DDA should apply to constructive dismissal and to post-employment discrimination. Covered in DDA Amendment Regulations 2003. 
			 It should be unlawful under the DDA for employers to instruct or pressurise other people to discriminate and DRC should be able to take action in such situations. Covered in DDA Amendment Regulations 2003. 
			 The DDA employment provisions, which allow justification for failure to make a reasonable adjustment, should be removed. Covered in DDA Amendment Regulations 2003. 
			 The definition of "victimisation" currently in the DDA should be broadened. Covered in DDA Amendment Regulations 2003. 
			 The Part 2 employment regulations in relation to reasonable adjustments to physical features should be amended. The provisions in the Employment Regulations about Approved Document M were revoked from 1 October 2004. 
			   
			 Disability Rights Commission Recommendations 
			 Employers should make reasonable adjustments in anticipation of having disabled employees. For possible future consideration. 
			 Less favourable treatment should only be justifiable where there is a genuine occupational requirement. For possible future consideration. 
			 Employment Tribunals should be able to recommend employers change their practices generally. For possible future consideration. 
			 Disability-related inquiries before a job is offered should be permitted only in very limited circumstances. For possible future consideration. 
			 The DDA should apply to volunteers. For possible future consideration. However, the Disability Rights Commission has been asked to produce a voluntary code of practice on volunteers. 
			 The DDA should apply to all statutory office holders, political office holders (including councillors), magistrates and school governors. Many office holders covered in DDA Amendment Regulations 2003. The draft Disability Discrimination Bill documents outline our commitment to include local councillors. Note: The Disability Discrimination Bill currently before Parliament includes proposals to cover local councillors and the public office holders not covered by the DDA Amendment Regulations 2003 
			 The armed services should be covered by the DDA. This recommendation is rejected. Provision for the exemption of the armed forces was recognised in the Article 13 Employment Directive adopted in November 2000. Ministry of Defence are working on voluntary guidance for service personnel who become disabled. 
			 The reasonable adjustment duty should be extended to cover omissions to act. Covered in DDA Amendment Regulations 2003. 
			 Alter tribunal procedures so that tribunals order and fund a joint medical report. For possible future consideration.

Asian Bird Influenza

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which streams of Asian bird influenza pose a threat to the UK; and which vaccines he is stockpiling to protect against possible outbreaks of flu.

Melanie Johnson: Highly pathogenic forms of avian influenza type A viruses are of most concern as these are known to have caused infections in people. Of these, A/H5N1, A/H7N7 and A/H9N2 have caused outbreaks of infection in the past five years. Because of their potential to adapt to become more transmissable to humans, or to exchange genes with a human influenza virus to produce a completely novel virus capable of pandemic spread, all pose a threat.
	There is as yet no vaccine available for the prevention of the disease. The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control has secured an isolate of the current avian influenza virus strain and has produced a candidate vaccine virus using "reverse genetics" technology for use should this be required. We are working closely with other countries, the World Health Organisation, the European Commission and manufacturers to ensure that a vaccine can be developed as quickly as possible once a pandemic flu strain emerges.

Asian Bird Influenza

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action is being taken by his Department to protect against possible mutations of the avian flu virus; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 28 February 2005
	There is no confirmed evidence of person-to-person spread of avian influenza in South-East Asia. Guidance for the national health service on the detection, diagnosis and treatment of potential cases of avian flu has been prepared by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), in collaboration with the Department, and is published on the HPA's website at www.hpa. org.uk/infections/topics az/avianinfluenza/menu.htm.
	In response to outbreaks of avian influenza in South-East Asia, the European Commission has imposed a ban on the importation of birds of all species from affected areas until December 2005.
	On 1 March, we published the United Kingdom health departments' influenza pandemic contingency plan, together with an announcement of our plans for procurement of antivirals. This puts the UK in the forefront of international preparedness for a possible flu pandemic. The document is on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/pandemicflu.

Down's Syndrome

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been provided for research into Down's syndrome (a) in total and (b) with specific reference to brain development in each year since 1997–98; and what plans he has to support further such research.

Melanie Johnson: The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body, funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.
	The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national health service.
	Both the MRC and the Department are currently supporting research into Down's syndrome. Past expenditure on such research is shown in the table.
	
		
			   £000 
			  MRC Department of Health research programmes(29) 
		
		
			 1997–98 352 531 
			 1998–99 143 611 
			 1999–2000 164 522 
			 2000–01 245 380 
			 2001–02 470 67 
			 2002–03 431 70 
			 2003–04 (30)— 111 
		
	
	(29) Includes expenditure on projects partly but not wholly related to Down's syndrome.
	(30) Not yet available.
	An analysis of expenditure that separately identifies the part of Down's syndrome research costs attributable to work on brain development is not available.
	Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by NHS organisations. Details of completed and ongoing projects, including a number concerned with Down's syndrome, can be found on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research.

Health Services (Burnley)

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been made available for improving buildings in Burnley for (a) general practitioner practices, (b) East Lancashire Acute Trust, (c) Burnley General Hospital and (d) other health services in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the net book value of purchased capital additions (buildings, dwellings and transfers from assets under construction) for the East Lancashire hospitals national health service trust and its predecessor trusts.
	
		
			£000 
			  Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley health care NHS trust Burnley health care NHS trust East Lancashire hospitals NHS trust 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,733 1,231 n/a 
			 1998–99 9,074 7,341 n/a 
			 1999–2000 1,460 6,838 n/a 
			 2000–01 2,108 1,787 n/a 
			 2001–02 7,432 2,430 n/a 
			 2002–03 2,390 8,577 n/a 
			 2003–04 n/a n/a 4,350 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures in the table do not include private finance initiative (PFI) expenditure where PFI costs are revenue expenditure in the books of NHS bodies.
	2. Capital investment will vary between years owing to the investment decisions at individual NHS bodies.
	Sources:
	Audited summarisation schedules of the East Lancashire hospitals NHS trust 2003–04.
	Audited summarisation schedules of the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley health Care NHS trust and the Burnley health care NHS trust 1997–98.

Heat-related Illnesses

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has made for combating the health effects of increasing levels of UV radiation due to the decline in cloud cover and ozone depletion.

Melanie Johnson: The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) has carried out ultra violet (UV) measurements of solar UV in the United Kingdom and these have shown a small upward trend. However, the data are still being analysed and may be within experimental uncertainties. The incidence of skin cancer, due to UV exposure is rising in most middle latitude countries. This is attributed to behavioural factors (sunbathing, holidays in the sun etc.) and not changes in the intensity of incident ultra violet radiation or other meteorological factors.
	The "SunSmart" campaign is funded by the Department and run by Cancer Research UK and seeks to educate people about the dangers of excessive exposure to UV and gives simple steps to avoid the harm. The messages would be equally valid and useful and possibly even more necessary, should UV levels in the UK rise because of meteorological changes.

Illegal Cigarettes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the health implications of trade in illegal cigarettes.

Melanie Johnson: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, has received representations from ASH and other health groups raising concerns that the availability of cheap illegal tobacco is undermining the Government's tobacco control strategy, particularly the use of high duty rates to discourage people from smoking. Smuggled tobacco has meant a continuing supply of cheap tobacco, often targeted on areas of deprivation.
	This is why the Government, in "Tackling Tobacco Smuggling," published in March 2000, has set challenging targets for Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to reverse the growth in tobacco smuggling. As a result, in the first four years of the strategy, the total number of cigarettes smuggled into the United Kingdom each year has been reduced by over five billion, a reduction of over a third.

Meat Hygiene

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what facilities the Meat Hygiene Service makes available to its inspection staff at meat plants to ensure that staff can store foodstuffs and consume meals and other refreshments in a clean, safe and hygienic environment;
	(2)  what facilities the Meat Hygiene Service makes available to its inspection staff to (a) wash, (b) shower and (c) ensure personal hygiene and cleanliness, in line with the MHS zoonosis risk guidance, when undertaking their duties at meat plants.

Melanie Johnson: I am advised that the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) enforces the provisions of the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 (as amended); the Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 (as amended); and the Wild Game Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995; which require that "adequate facilities" are provided by plant operators to enable MHS inspection staff to carry out their duties. These facilities include those required to enable MHS staff to wash, shower and ensure their personal hygiene and cleanliness.
	In ensuring that adequate facilities are provided, the MHS also has an obligation to ensure that premises, including plants in which its inspection staff work, comply with the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (as amended). Regulations 22 and 25 place a responsibility on all plant operators to provide facilities for rest and eating meals in the premises they control or own.
	The plant operator is the primary duty holder under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations. Some plant operators provide canteen facilities which are available to be shared by MHS inspection staff. Where shared eating facilities are not available, the MHS has provided refrigerators in some plants exclusively for the storage of food by inspection staff, and has also provided items such as microwave cookers and electric kettles for their usage.

NHS Counter Fraud Compliance Unit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date the NHS Counter Fraud Compliance Unit was proposed for closure in the Arm's Length Body review; what recent transitional arrangements have been proposed; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 24 February 2005
	The devolution of the work of the National Health Service Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS) compliance unit was intended to be 31 March 2005, with closure of the unit at the same time.
	Unfortunately, an error occurred at the time of publication of "An Implementation Framework for Reconfiguring the Department of Health's Arm's Length Bodies" and the date for closure was shown as 1 October 2005, not 31 March 2005 as previously indicated in communication to compliance unit staff. Staff in the compliance unit were contacted once it became clear that an error had been made.
	The CFSMS is continuing to consult with UNISON regarding transitional arrangements. These include retaining a small number of staff to undertake work on decommissioning the compliance unit for a limited period of time. This is in addition to the nine members of staff who will be retained to form a patient fraud support unit.

NHS Estates

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which functions of NHS Estates will remain with the Department of Health after 1 April; and which functions will transfer to other bodies;
	(2)  when he expects employees of NHS Estates to be informed of recent decisions on the organisation's future.

John Hutton: The implementation framework for reconfiguring the Department's arm's length bodies, published on 30 November 2004, sets out the future arrangements for NHS Estates functions, post its dissolution.
	A number of policy functions will be transferred to the Department, including "Procure 21" and decontamination. Responsibility for national health service advisory services will transfer to strategic health authorities. The National Patient Safety Agency will take on the implementation of programmes concerning food and cleaning, and certain design related projects.
	Inventures trading services are likely to be disposed of through a managed closure.
	Employees of NHS Estates are being updated on a regular basis on decisions made about the organisation's future.

Overseas Visitors

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the Government's response to the replies received on the consultation paper "Proposal to Exclude Overseas Visitors from Eligibility to Free NHS Primary Medical Services".

John Hutton: We plan to publish the results of the consultation at the same time as we announce our preferred way forward. However, these proposals have highlighted some complex issues which we are now considering and we will make the planned announcement when we have resolved these.

Skin Cancer

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Government 
	(1)  have spent on promoting public health policies aimed at protecting against skin cancer in each of the last 10 years; and how much it plans to spend in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06;
	(2)  how much of the money spent by his Department aimed at protecting against skin cancer over the last 10 years has been spent through Cancer Research UK.

Melanie Johnson: Annual figures on expenditure of sun awareness campaigns undertaken by the Health Education Authority are not available between 1996–97 and 1998–99.
	Amounts invested in sun awareness campaigns are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
		
		
			 1999–2000 543,000 
			 2000–01 50,000 
			 2001–02 126,000 
			 2002–03 140,000 
			 2003–04 150,000 
		
	
	Funding of approximately £400,000 over the next three years from March 2004 has been approved for the Cancer Research UK to run its "SunSmart" sun awareness campaign on behalf of the United Kingdom health departments, following the successful launch of "SunSmart" last year.

Sun

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Government have spent on advising the public that vitamin D obtained from sunlight is essential for health.

Melanie Johnson: The Government provide advice on vitamin D and sunlight as part of the "SunSmart" campaign, which is run by Cancer Research UK on behalf of United Kingdom health departments. The Government give advice to the public on the benefits for health of obtaining vitamin D from gentle sunlight in all relevant publications. There is no separately identified budget.

Tuberculosis

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed in each of the last five years; and how many sufferers were born abroad.

Melanie Johnson: The Health Protection Agency publishes this data on its website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics az/tb/epidemiology/table14.htm.

Data Protection Act

Nigel Evans: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what provisions (a) within and (b) under the Data Protection Act 1998 are designed to ensure that designated data controllers dispose of information in an appropriate manner.

Christopher Leslie: There are no specific provisions in or under the Data Protection Act 1998 that identify approved methods for data controllers to carry out the deletion, erasure or destruction of personal data, or to effect the physical disposal or destruction of the data processing medium. However, under the terms of the 7th Data Protection Principle, data controllers are required to take appropriate technical measures against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss of personal data.

Lottery Funding (Travellers)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the Traveller community groups and organisations that have received Lottery funding since May 1997.

Estelle Morris: The following lists all successful Lottery awards that have been granted to groups that feature the words 'Traveller' or 'Gypsy' in their name, or in project description. This does not mean that all the groups listed are Traveller groups or organisations.
	Ackworth Concert Society
	Action Group For Irish Youth
	Advisory Council—Education of Romany and Other Travellers
	An Tearmann Playgroup
	An Tearmann Project
	BIAS Brent Irish Advisory Service
	Bagworth Forward Group
	Belfast Public Libraries
	Belfast Traveller Support Group
	Belfast Travellers Education And Development Group
	Black Bull Clog
	Brent Irish Advisory Service
	Call of the Wild
	Cardiff Gypsy Sites Project (Ltd.)
	Community Development Agency for Hertfordshire
	Craigavon Travellers Support Committee
	Crathie Opportunity Holidays
	Creative Development Partnership
	CSV
	Dave Kelbie-Lejazzetal
	Derry Travellers' Support Group
	Deva Arts
	East Norfolk Travellers Association
	EHCPA Community Playbus Association
	Fellow Travellers
	First Steps Pre-School and Family Group
	Gainsborough Traveller Initiative
	Generator X
	Groundwork Southwark
	Gypsy Council
	Gypsy Traveller Needs Association
	Hart Voluntary Action
	International Gypsy Band Swap
	Irish Community Care Manchester
	KIDS
	Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange
	London Borough of Bromley
	London Borough of Hillingdon
	London Gypsy and Traveller Unit
	Marianne Olyver Gypsy Orchestra
	Mela Group—Healthy Nations 2000
	Murston Early Years Project
	Museum of East Anglian Life
	National Travellers Action Group
	New Forest And Romsey Mobile Community Project
	Norfolk Local Education Authority
	Northamptonshire County Council (Education/Community Learning)
	Northern Ireland Council for Travelling People
	Patchway, Bradley Stoke and Stoke Gifford Play Association
	Presfield Special School
	Radical Gypsy
	Raynehurst Junior School
	S.T.E.P
	Save the Children
	Scottish Gypsy Traveller Association
	Serious Events Ltd.
	Sheffield Gypsy and Traveller Support Group
	Sheila Douglas
	Smooth Ride Guides
	St. Johns Parent Partnership Fund
	St. Peter's Playgroup
	Stoke-On-Trent Citizens Advice Bureau
	Surrey County Council
	The Abbey Lawn Trust
	The Bromley Gypsy Traveller Community Project
	The Dawnay Primary School
	The Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen
	The Gypsy Community Project
	The Queen's School, Wisbech
	Traveller Education and Information Project (North East)
	Traveller Girls Group
	Traveller Movement (NI)
	Travellers Funhouse
	Travellers Rest Community Football Club
	Travelling Homeopaths Collective
	Unique Coffee Bar
	Unst Youth Centre Trust
	Upper Springfield Development Trust
	Uxbridge College
	Witchford Traveller Group
	Women's Music and Performance Workshops
	Wrexham Catholic Forum for Traveller Children
	Wroughton Infant School
	York Travellers Trust
	Young Travellers Education Project
	This information is available from the Department's searchable Lottery award database at www.lottery. culture.gsi.gov.uk, which uses information supplied by the Lottery distributors.

Motorsport

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what resources are available to assist in the development of karting facilities for young people.

Richard Caborn: The Motor Sports Association (MSA)—the UK's governing body for motor sports—is active in supporting the development of karting for young people. In partnership with the National Schools Karting Association, the MSA provides opportunities for young people to experience the sport at events held at karting facilities, which can themselves apply to the Club Development Fund for support on safety infrastructure and equipment.
	Furthermore, the development of three international-standard karting tracks in the UK was one of the recommendations to emerge from the Department for Trade and Industry's Motorsport Competitiveness Panel in July 2003. The industry-led Motorsport Development Board, formed to advise on implementing these recommendations, is currently addressing them as part of a "whole sport" approach to widening participation.

National Lottery

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the total amount (a) allocated and (b) distributed by each of the lottery distribution bodies in each year since 1994.

Estelle Morris: The figures appear in the following table by calendar years. Those for 1995 incorporate the last few months of 1994, before which the lottery did not operate.
	The figures in the 'allocated' columns are available from the Department's searchable lottery award database at www.lottery.culture.gsi.gov.uk, which uses information supplied by the lottery distributors. The figures for 2004 are not yet final due to lags in the reporting process.
	The figures in the "distributed" column represent draw-down by the distributors from the National Lottery
	Distribution Fund (NLDF), and include administrative costs.
	
		1995
		
			 £ 
			 Lottery distributor Allocated Distributed 
		
		
			 Arts Council England 206,611,779 21,839,037 
			 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 4,307,651 289,217 
			 Arts Council of Wales 8,927,997 1,697,021 
			 Community Fund 154,198,448 9,289,002 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 107,816,131 31,341,926 
			 Millennium Commission 330,973,165 5,307,031 
			 New Opportunities Fund 0 0 
			 Scottish Arts Council 13,192,932 1,395,777 
			 Scottish Screen 0 0 
			 Sport England 93,941,707 18,576,000 
			 Sport Scotland 8,951,222 2,793,143 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 4,574,880 677,417 
			 Sports Council for Wales 4,953,171 791,956 
			 UK Film Council 0 0 
			 UK Sport 0 0 
			 Awards for All 0 0 
		
	
	
		1996
		
			 £ 
			 Lottery distributor Allocated Distributed 
		
		
			 Arts Council England 469,874,349 108,000,732 
			 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 7,062,937 1,423,718 
			 Arts Council of Wales 12,975,071 7,058,727 
			 Community Fund 287,688,900 112,830,703 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 340,408,844 74,658,667 
			 Millennium Commission 430,308,405 29,237,983 
			 New Opportunities Fund 0 0 
			 Scottish Arts Council 36,114,453 10,328,628 
			 Scottish Screen 0 0 
			 Sport England 105,789,797 78,571,000 
			 Sport Scotland 13,957,583 8,827,095 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 6,529,998 3,904,247 
			 Sports Council for Wales 13,464,328 5,140,464 
			 UK Film Council 0 0 
			 UK Sport 0 0 
			 Awards for All 0 0 
		
	
	
		1997
		
			 £ 
			 Lottery distributor Allocated Distributed 
		
		
			 Arts Council England 311,086,127 274,755,968 
			 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 4,740,377 3,068,466 
			 Arts Council of Wales 18,398,152 12,348,056 
			 Community Fund 213,578,949 202,872,982 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 474,151,639 131,937,484 
			 Millennium Commission 1,125,429,317 161,693,783 
			 New Opportunities Fund 0 0 
			 Scottish Arts Council 24,195,170 22,842,498 
			 Scottish Screen 0 0 
			 Sport England 159,449,315 135,869,000 
			 Sport Scotland 12,139,367 12,732,069 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 7,618,882 6,712,468 
			 Sports Council for Wales 18,223,262 12,122,000 
			 UK Film Council 0 0 
			 UK Sport 200,000 0 
			 Awards for All 0 0 
		
	
	
		1998
		
			 £ 
			 Lottery distributor Allocated Distributed 
		
		
			 Arts Council England 134,616,217 337,445,773 
			 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 10,402,112 4,088,256 
			 Arts Council of Wales 12,499,587 15,353,233 
			 Community Fund 273,595,067 257,885,805 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 318,130,322 182,286,502 
			 Millennium Commission 41,143,277 340,291,889 
			 New Opportunities Fund 0 837,098 
			 Scottish Arts Council 37,331,278 22,303,532 
			 Scottish Screen 0 0 
			 Sport England 209,491,814 225,890,000 
			 Sport Scotland 26,205,559 21,096,467 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 10,515,805 6,962,029 
			 Sports Council for Wales 6,971,813 12,895,838 
			 UK Film Council 0 0 
			 UK Sport 12,160 0 
			 Awards for All 2,577,779 0 
		
	
	
		1999
		
			 £ 
			 Lottery distributor Allocated Distributed 
		
		
			 Arts Council England 203,611,377 233,995,234 
			 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 8,622,996 8,850,837 
			 Arts Council of Wales 14,366,083 14,219,222 
			 Community Fund 483,936,056 355,530,515 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 212,445,756 256,505,732 
			 Millennium Commission 42,946,129 559,325,000 
			 New Opportunities Fund 408,714,012 31,304,340 
			 Scottish Arts Council 13,682,936 30,044,461 
			 Scottish Screen 0 0 
			 Sport England 261,971,374 357,600,000 
			 Sport Scotland 22,320,874 20,384,294 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 6,267,805 9,806,819 
			 Sports Council for Wales 4,754,354 16,032,000 
			 UK Film Council 5,823,653 0 
			 UK Sport 11,011,950 6,593,712 
			 Awards for All 23,781,933 0 
		
	
	
		2000
		
			 £ 
			 Lottery distributor Allocated Distributed 
		
		
			 Arts Council England 86,474,573 217,088,700 
			 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 1,522,456 5,778,377 
			 Arts Council of Wales 10,346,757 13,380,923 
			 Community Fund 345,487,914 398,789,671 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 172,157,650 282,853,899 
			 Millennium Commission 38,069,526 526,157,000 
			 New Opportunities Fund 202,446,377 138,250,000 
			 Scottish Arts Council 14,549,320 24,624,354 
			 Scottish Screen 3,392,911 768,327 
			 Sport England 326,022,512 236,566,000 
			 Sport Scotland 20,012,659 23,684,361 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 3,662,642 7,036,999 
			 Sports Council for Wales 3,240,967 8,360,000 
			 UK Film Council 18,743,451 7,552,509 
			 UK Sport 24,005,579 24,754,538 
			 Awards for All 45,277,329 0 
		
	
	
		2001
		
			 £ 
			 Lottery distributor Allocated Distributed 
		
		
			 Arts Council England 134,032,103 213,432,591 
			 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 3,578,985 6,570,211 
			 Arts Council of Wales 14,856,977 10,795,542 
			 Community Fund 294,421,984 393,717,444 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 239,401,618 269,130,010 
			 Millennium Commission 24,018,954 253,133,000 
			 New Opportunities Fund 437,489,154 196,950,000 
			 Scottish Arts Council 15,370,258 24,687,218 
			 Scottish Screen 3,361,188 3,509,906 
			 Sport England 306,433,258 265,500,000 
			 Sport Scotland 26,357,483 24,658,552 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 2,880,828 4,551,340 
			 Sports Council for Wales 16,952,842 9,581,000 
			 UK Film Council 27,052,929 10,393,199 
			 UK Sport 66,885,806 24,337,678 
			 Awards for All 34,986,253 0 
		
	
	
		2002
		
			 £ 
			 Lottery distributor Allocated Distributed 
		
		
			 Arts Council England 145,654,795 197,055,996 
			 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 2,738,993 6,494,499 
			 Arts Council of Wales 7,692,050 13,674,242 
			 Community Fund 264,743,005 366,824,140 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 316,206,330 260,025,901 
			 Millennium Commission 103,325,941 111,616,000 
			 New Opportunities Fund 421,743,571 344,000,000 
			 Scottish Arts Council 19,721,417 16,179,128 
			 Scottish Screen 0 3,965,625 
			 Sport England 370,027,014 323,158,000 
			 Sport Scotland 29,540,413 21,015,710 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 232,268 4,906,272 
			 Sports Council for Wales 17,932,555 17,820,200 
			 UK Film Council 28,408,618 19,925,712 
			 UK Sport 10,793,311 24,735,256 
			 Awards for All 57,452,142 0 
		
	
	
		2003
		
			 £ 
			 Lottery distributor Allocated Distributed 
		
		
			 Arts Council England 139,925,310 165,646,000 
			 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 2,503,191 7,161,402 
			 Arts Council of Wales 11,369,669 17,143,903 
			 Community Fund 249,530,222 319,352,073 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 332,587,785 308,243,299 
			 Millennium Commission 3,951,425 167,857,000 
			 New Opportunities Fund 708,706,606 524,000,000 
			 Scottish Arts Council 23,505,990 24,810,738 
			 Scottish Screen 0 3,916,874 
			 Sport England 146,346,884 260,700,000 
			 Sport Scotland 13,738,206 26,425,456 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 312,170 4,296,357 
			 Sports Council for Wales 13,103,820 22,064,074 
			 UK Film Council 40,498,691 39,216,822 
			 UK Sport 10,055,879 20,884,077 
			 Awards for All 50,438,0430 0 
		
	
	
		2004
		
			 £ 
			 Lottery distributor Allocated Distributed 
		
		
			 Arts Council England 96,220,792 205,775,705 
			 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 734,745 7,572,031 
			 Arts Council of Wales 5,219,598 18,485,335 
			 Community Fund 203,570,917 277,656,357 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 168,873,139 322,783,001 
			 Millennium Commission 24,444,086 54,047,000 
			 New Opportunities Fund 369,330,322 564,000,000 
			 Scottish Arts Council 12,878,072 26,211,777 
			 Scottish Screen 0 0 
			 Sport England 182,052,180 181,500,000 
			 Sport Scotland 5,219,543 34,185,194 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 464,192 6,242,388 
			 Sports Council for Wales 12,740,743 19,599,690 
			 UK Film Council 28,470,772 38,050,168 
			 UK Sport 4,687,157 18,247,661 
			 Awards for All 49,312,948 0 
		
	
	
		2005 to date
		
			 £ 
			 Lottery distributor Allocated Distributed 
		
		
			 Arts Council England 763,877 14,924,626 
			 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 0 544,802 
			 Arts Council of Wales 0 638,514 
			 Community Fund 21,320,847 12,373,704 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 0 17,546,405 
			 Millennium Commission 0 3,294,000 
			 New Opportunities Fund 6,220,853 31,000,000 
			 Scottish Arts Council 415,199 1,325,570 
			 Scottish Screen 0 0 
			 Sport England 0 8,500,000 
			 Sport Scotland 0 1,632,160 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 0 364,298 
			 Sports Council for Wales 0 2,638,000 
			 UK Film Council 2,649,403 1,929,391 
			 UK Sport 127,651,842 1,966,378 
			 Awards for All 1,450 0 
		
	
	Note:
	"Allocated" and "distributed" columns naturally differ because many awards are not distributed in the year in which the money is allocated.
	"Awards for All" is a joint scheme and not a distributor, so it does not draw down money itself from the NLDF.
	The table excludes the lottery proceeds used to fund NESTA (£200 million in 1998 and further £95 million in 2003).

Nightclubs

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what plans she has to review the procedures for the licensing of nightclubs;
	(2)  if she will bring forward proposals to require local authorities to publicise more widely applications for licensing of nightclubs.

Richard Caborn: There is no legal definition of "nightclub". The procedures for the licensing of all premises selling alcohol or providing regulated entertainment or late night refreshment were reviewed during the White Paper consultation on licensing and the subject of detailed scrutiny during the Licensing Bill's passage through Parliament. The Licensing Act 2003 and Guidance to Licensing Authorities explain the new procedures and can be read on the Department's website (www.culture.gov.uk ). The requirements for advertising applications for the grant or variation or review of premises licences are contained in regulations that are also available on our website. These include the need to display for 28 consecutive days, a legible notice prominently at or on the premises to which the application relates where it can be conveniently read from the exterior of the premises and, in the case of a premises covering an area of more than 50 sq m, a further notice in the same form and subject to the same requirements every 50 m along the external perimeter of the premises abutting any highway; and also to publish a notice in a local newspaper or, if there is none, a local newsletter or similar document at least once during the 10 working days after the application is given to the licensing authority. We do not think that there is a case for further extending the publicising of applications for licences for nightclubs.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to modernise delivery to the customer by ensuring that her Department and its sponsored bodies improve performance and pursue institutional excellence.

Richard Caborn: The Department does not have a Public Service Agreement "to modernise delivery to the customer by ensuring that her Department and its sponsored bodies improve performance and pursue institutional excellence." We do however have a PSA target "to improve significantly the value for money of the Department's sponsored bodies, measured by a matrix of NDPB indicators".
	Information on the Department's performance against this Public Service Agreement target was published on 22 December 2004 in the DCMS Autumn Performance Report (Cm 6435). Copies of the report are available in the House Library.

Disabled Facilities Grant

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what input she has had to the review of the disabled facilities grant;
	(2)  how much her Department contributed towards vital housing adaptations for disabled children in each of the past three years.

Margaret Hodge: DfES is working with ODPM and DH as one of the three government departments undertaking the review of the disabled facilities grant. ODPM is the lead department in the review.
	Information is not collected centrally on contributions towards housing adaptations. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants holds information on expenditure by personal social services. CIPFA makes no distinction between children and adults when collecting information on adaptations which it lists together with information on equipment expenditure.
	"Actual expenditure" for 2001–02 and 2002–03 for 'Equipment and Adaptations' was £62,716,000 and £57,063,000 respectively, across 'Physical Disability or Sensory Impairment' and 'Learning Disabilities'. "Estimated expenditure" for 2003–04 is £63,924,000. DfES contributes to these funds but exact figures for children and adaptations are indeterminable due to the way information is collected.

Child Care (Easington)

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many child care places there were in the Easington constituency in each of the last three years; and what the occupancy rates were in each year.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the form requested. The available information on child care places and nursery education places is shown in the tables.
	The available information on child care places, for Durham local authority area, is shown in table 1.
	
		Table 1: Number1,2 of registered child care places for children under eight years of age by type of care—Durham local education authority area—position at 31 March each year—2003 and 2004
		
			 Type of care 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Full day care 2,300 2,800 
			 Sessional day care 1,400 1,400 
			 Child minders 3,100 3,400 
			 Out of school day care 1,700 1,900 
			 Crèche day care 500 500 
		
	
	(33) Rounded to the nearest 100 places.
	(34) Data Source: Ofsted
	The figures for 2003 and 2004 were derived from the Ofsted database of registered child care providers. There are no figures for 2002.
	Figures for the ratio of enrolments to places were published in the overview report on the "2002/03 Childcare and Early Years Workforce survey", which is available on the sure start website, www.surestart. gov.uk. The figures for full day care, sessional day care (playgroups), out of school clubs and child minders were 1.47, 1.43, 0.97 and 0.87 respectively.
	With the introduction of the National Day Care Standards and the transfer of responsibilities for registration and inspection of childcare providers from Local Authority Social Service Departments to Ofsted in September 2001, child care places were classified according to the type of day care provided: full day care, sessional day care, child minder, out of school day care or crèche day care. Ofsted have produced figures based on this classification on a quarterly basis from March 2003. Their latest figures were published on 19 January 2005 in their report "Registered Childcare Providers and Places, 31 December 2004", which is available on their website, www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications.
	The available information on nursery education places, for Durham local authority area, is shown in tables 2 and 3.
	
		Table 2: Number of free nursery education places(35) taken up three and four-year-olds Durham local education authority area—position in January each year
		
			  2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 3-year-olds
			 Maintained nursery and primary schools(36) 3,800 3,500 3,400 
			 Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers (37)940 (37)980 (38)1,000 
			 Total 3-year-olds 4,700 4,500 4,400 
			 
			 4-year-olds
			 Maintained nursery and primary schools(39) 5,200 5,100 4,800 
			 Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers (40)300 (41)380 (42)400 
			 Total 4-year-olds 5,500 5,500 5,200 
		
	
	(35) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate.
	(36) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(37) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the nursery education grant data collection exercise.
	(38) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(39) Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(40) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the nursery education grant data collection exercise.
	(41) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census supplementary data collection exercise and the Annual Schools' Census.
	8 Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	
		Table 3: Number of free nursery education places(42) taken up three and four-year-olds by parliamentary constituency—Durham local education authority area—position in January 2004
		
			  3-year-olds 
			 Constituency Maintained nursery and primary schools(43) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers(44) Total 3-year-olds 
		
		
			 Bishop Auckland 580 220 800 
			 City of Durham 460 280 740 
			 Easington 600 110 710 
			 North Durham 560 140 700 
			 North West Durham 670 100 760 
			 Sedgefield(47) 510 180 690 
			 LEA total 3,400 1,000 4,400 
		
	
	
		
			  4-year-olds 
			 Constituency Maintained nursery and primary schools4 Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers5 Total 4-year-olds 
		
		
			 Bishop Auckland 840 90 940 
			 City of Durham 750 150 890 
			 Easington 860 50 910 
			 North Durham 790 40 830 
			 North West Durham 860 30 890 
			 Sedgefield(47) 700 50 750 
			 LEA total 4,800 400 5,200 
		
	
	(42) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate.
	(43) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(44) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(45) Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(46) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(47) Constituency does not include figures from providers within Darlington LEA

Fire Safety (Schools)

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what precautions for fire safety are required in the design of new school buildings; what plans she has for mandatory fire sprinklers; and if she will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Since April 2001, all new building work at schools has been subject to the Building Regulations. With regard to fire safety, the design of new school buildings must comply with Part B of the Regulations.
	The Building Regulations do not require the installation of sprinkler systems in schools, but this does not prohibit local education authorities from specifying their use. Currently the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is carrying out a review of the fire safety aspects of the Building Regulations and its accompanying guidance Approved Document B. The review will include schools and it should be completed early in 2006. The decision on whether or not to install sprinklers in new schools needs to be taken locally. For example, in the Department's Managing School Facilities Guide 6, "Fire Safety", we give the example of a school in an area of high arson risk as being a suitable candidate for their installation see www.teachernet.gov.uk/fire. However, we are mindful of the need to provide more detailed advice than before and have produced new draft guidance—"Designing and Managing Against the Risk of Fire in Schools". This stresses the value of using risk assessments to determine what sort of fire detection and alarm systems should be used in a new school, and whether or not sprinklers should be installed. This advice will be subject to public consultation, which will commence shortly, and we expect to publish it in the early autumn.

Special Educational Needs

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to publicise the options available to parents who do not believe their child's school is compliant with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001;
	(2)  when the Government plans to review the implementation of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 in schools;
	(3)  what steps the Government is taking to ensure that all schools become compliant with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001;
	(4)  what measures are in place to assess whether the accessibility plans produced by schools under the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 are meeting the needs of all disabled children;
	(5)  how many schools are complying with the duty under the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 to produce accessibility plans.

Margaret Hodge: The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 amended both the Education Act 1996 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. To help schools, local education authorities and others meet their amended special educational needs (SEN) duties under the Education Act 1996 the Department published the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001). To help schools meet their duties under part 4 of the amended Disability Discrimination Act, the Disability Rights Commission produced a Code of Practice in 2002. The Code of Practice explains, and provides guidance on, the duties schools have not to discriminate, without justification, against children for a reason related to their disabilities and to make reasonable adjustments to prevent discrimination. In June 2002 the Department for Education and Skills issued separate guidance to schools on carrying out their duty to draw up and publish plans for improving access to disabled pupils.
	The Department for Education and Skills has made widely available a guide for parents and carers on the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. The Disability Rights Commission provides advice to parents and schools on disability discrimination and runs a dedicated telephone help line. Parents have the right to appeal to the SEN and Disability Tribunal and admissions appeal panels if they think their children have suffered discrimination or if they disagree with the decisions of their local education authority about their child's special educational needs. The Tribunal has made available to parents publications explaining their rights of appeal, how they can make an appeal, and what this entails.
	The Office for Standards in Education (OfSTED) consider how well schools are meeting the needs of children with special educational needs as part of their inspections; they consider how schools are complying with their duty to produce accessibility plans and the quality of those plans. OfSTED's recent survey reviewing the implementation of the revised inclusion framework introduced as a result of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001, "Special Educational Needs and Disability—towards inclusive schools," found that schools had a growing awareness of the benefits of inclusion and that there had been some improvements in practice. It also identified the need for further progress, for example, of the schools surveyed around 50 per cent. had produced a disability access plan. OfSTED recognised that the broad and sustained programme of action under the SEN strategy "Removing Barriers to Achievement" (February 2004) is designed to bring about improvements to the provision for children with learning difficulties and disabilities. The programme includes the development of practical resources for schools that should help them to comply fully with their duties under part 4 of the Disability Discrimination Act.

Sure Start

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the effects of the Sure Start programme in the constituency of Wellingborough.

Margaret Hodge: There is one Sure Start Local Programme (SSLP), one Neighbourhood Nursery (NN) and one children's centre (CC) in it's planning stages in Wellingborough.
	The Wellingborough Sure Start local programme was approved in 2003 and supports around 730 young local children and their families living in the catchment area. It has an indicative allocation of £1,075,000 capital grant, all of which has been approved and has received revenue of £700,000 in 2004/05, and will receive £768,752 in 2005/06 and £768,752 in 2006/07. The catchment area comprises three separate estates which each form part of three wards—Queensway, Croyland (Kingsway) and Hemmingwell. The programme delivers a wide range of services to support local families including:
	continuity of care and midwifery support
	health advice and parenting support for child development and behaviour issues
	joint working at clinics e.g. a parent support group running at a health visitor clinic
	Children's Information Service to provide information about Sure Start area
	Mobile Toy library linking up with existing Parent and Toddler groups
	Playgroup activities, continuous throughout holidays
	Flexible childminders
	Speech and language therapy
	Since opening, Sure Start Wellingborough has helped improve the quality of life for local families. Local health visitors report back to the local programme on all women identified with post natal depression—including specific referral to the Sure Start programme to provide support. The programme funds a HomeStart worker to train and support an increased number of volunteers. There are four support groups currently running weekly where there are quality play activities and support for parents. A new group is starting in 2004/05 specifically for teenage parents. Groups which will run for specific periods of time are: Speakeasy (helping parents to talk about sex appropriately with their children), Parentzone (parenting course), EarlyStart (adult literacy and numeracy with activities with their children).
	Health visitors aim to visit all children within two months of birth and give parents information about Sure Start services. Visit or contact is offered to all parents/carers not seen in the preceding three months. "Roadshows" taken round to all three estates on a rolling programme provide information on aspects of parenting and respond to requests from parents for information. This five week programme deals with a theme each week which corresponds to one of the Sure Start objectives . The SSLP health visitor and midwife also provide outreach services.
	As a recently approved round 5 Sure Start Programme, Wellingborough have only recently been required to submit reach data, however recent Sure Start Unit monitoring reports show that the programme is seeing 122 of their 729 children (17 per cent.) each month, and saw 11 per cent. new children in September 2004 as well as visiting 89 per cent. of new babies in the catchment area within the first two months of their lives.
	The programme has recognised the need to broaden parental consultation to all .families. They have employed community development workers to work with parents in setting up the forum and continuing consultation.
	The Croyland Neighbourhood Nursery is the only one in the constituency and opened as a 42 place nursery in March 2004. The nursery was awarded £202,851 revenue funding up until 2007, and also received a one off capital grant of £175,000 from the Big Lottery Fund. It is part of the planned children's centre and based on a school site.
	The children's centre will bring together the SSLP and the NN and also includes a maintained nursery school and a pre school. The centre has an indicative allocation of £80,000 revenue from 2004–06 with a total indicative capital allocation of £350,000. The Croyland Centre will be situated in Croyland Ward and will work closely with the SSLP to provide integrated daycare and education. Centre managers are currently negotiating provision at both sites with the Primary Care Trust and Lifelong Learning. The Sure Start midwife is already working with a community midwife to provide ante-natal care on all three Sure Start estates. Family support will also be available on both sites, with the exact nature of this dependent on the expressed needs of the families. A pre-school in the town will be extended to provide a further 24 daycare places.

Sure Start

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the effects of each Sure Start programme in Rochdale;
	(2)  what research she has conducted on the effects of Sure Start programmes in Rochdale on (a) literacy, (b) speech and language development, (c) levels of breast feeding, (d) smoking cessation and (e) post-natal depression;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of levels of satisfaction of parents in Rochdale with the services provided by Sure Start programmes.

Margaret Hodge: There are three Sure Start local programmes in Rochdale constituency; Castlemere, Deeplish and Newbold approved in 2000; Belfield, Hamer and Waddleworth approved in 2001; and Kirkholt, Turfhill and Wellfield approved in 2003. Between them the three programmes provide services to 2,300 young children living within their respective catchment areas. The programmes deliver a wide range of services to support local families including training in parenting skills, access to health services at the centres and outreach support to children and families in their home.
	The programmes' funding for the current and future years is as follows:
	
		
			 Programme name Capital Revenue 
			  Approved 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 
		
		
			 Castle mere Deplish and Newbold 982,206 769,660 788,902 788,902 
			 Belfield, Hamer and Waddleworth 684,417 753,375 772,209 772,209 
			 Kirkholt, Turfhill and Wellfield 256,760 645,000 661,125 661,125 
		
	
	These programmes are developing into children's centres and will contribute towards achieving our goal of a children's centre in every community by 2010.
	The Department does not conduct research on the impact of individual Sure Start programmes. Instead, a comprehensive national level evaluation system is in place that looks at programmes across the board and will examine the effectiveness of Sure Start for children, families and communities over time.
	Programmes carry out their own local evaluation. The available data from these show that since opening, the Castlemere Deeplish and Newbold and Belfield Hamer and Waddleworth local programmes achieved a 20 per cent. increase in the number of children scoring above average levels in the speech and language measure assessment on children aged 2 years, and a reduction of 6 per cent. in the number of children scoring below the average levels.
	Since these two programmes were approved there has been on average an increase of 60 per cent. in the number of mothers breastfeeding.
	A user satisfaction survey is conducted by each programme after its opening and thereafter on a three-year cycle. Within the Castlemere, Deeplish and Newbold local programme area 95 per cent. of families responded that they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the programme's services in April 2003. In September 2003 the corresponding survey in the Belfield, Hamer and Waddleworth local programme area showed that 98 per cent. of families were "satisfied" or "very satisfied". The Kirkholt, Turfhill and Wellfield programme is due to report in September 2005.

Sure Start

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money has been allocated to Sure Start provision in Kettering in each year since it was first introduced; and if she will make a statement on the programme.

Margaret Hodge: Kettering has one Sure Start local programme (SSLP), one Neighbourhood Nursery (NN) and one planned children's centre (CC) receiving funding from the Sure Start Unit. Money has been allocated as indicated in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			  2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 
		
		
			 SSLP Revenue 358,501 525,500 750,002 768,752 768,752 
			 Capital 1,000,000 — 
			 NN Revenue — 30,075 108,271 60,150 18,045 
			 CC Revenue — — (48)40,000 (48)40,000 (49)— 
			 Capital — — (48)135,000 — — 
		
	
	(48) Indicative.
	(49) Not yet allocated.
	"Sure Start 4 Wards", the Sure Start local programme which supports families and young children across Kettering, was approved in September 2002. The programme works closely with a number of providers to improve support for young children and their families, delivering a variety of services including: reading groups; parent support; fathers' group; parenting skills; baby massage; breastfeeding support; and outreach services through Citizen's Advice Bureau.
	The Sure Start programme undertook a local evaluation of their services in 2003/04 and as part of this they recruited and trained eight parents to take a questionnaire out to a range of local toddler groups. The survey also included the opportunity for parents to feedback their suggestions for improvements. 75 per cent. of respondents said the quality of the Sure Start services they received was "very good" and that their child had done new things as a result of involvement with the programme.
	The programme has invested £938,000 of their capital grant in a new building which will provide a family centre, 26 full day care places and accommodation for up to 20 multi-disciplinary workers under one roof.
	The Grange Neighbourhood Nursery opened in January 2004 and provides 62 full daycare places, 54 of which are funded through Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative. This nursery is based on a school site which also incorporates a Healthy Living Centre and a community sports and arts facility.
	A children's centre is planned for the Grange school which is approximately half a mile from the Sure Start local programme building. Both sites will provide integrated full daycare places and early learning in due course and an additional 24 places will be created by extending another setting. The children's centre will build on the existing provision already available in Kettering.

Sure Start

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the effects of the Sure Start programme in Birmingham, South West.

Margaret Hodge: The Birmingham, South West Sure Start local programme was approved in February 2003 and supports 867 children under four and their families living in the Bartley Green Ward and Welsh House Farm Housing Estate in Birmingham. To date the programme has had access to £1,402,122 in revenue funding and £960,000 in capital funding. A further £1,112,400 in revenue funding over the next two years (2005/06—2006/07) has been allocated.
	The programme has helped improve the quality of life for local families through the delivery of a wide range of services including: the development of a Teenage Pregnancy/Parent Group to support pregnant teenagers and young mums under 21; the provision of a Child Psychologist and Speech and Language Therapist; the availability of nutrition and dietetics services; access to the Relate Counselling Service and Money Advice Service for families; working with the charity KIDS in the West Midlands to provide support to children with additional needs/disabilities; working in partnership with Barnardos' "Community Plus Project" to provide family support and advice; outreach workers who provide flexible one to one support and advice for parents; group sessions for parents on parenting; provision of safety equipment for families and advice on home safety formulated with the West Midlands Fire Service; and links with Fircroft College enabling parents to access training courses. Several parents are undertaking South Birmingham PCT's short course Introduction to Community Family Work' which leads on to the OCN Certificate in Family Work.
	The development of a children's centre on the programme's Doddington Grove site will extend Sure Start services to children under five and their families. The new children's centre will act as a base for high quality child care integrated with early learning as well as deliver other services like health, family support and advice and training to help parents take up work opportunities. Designation is expected later this year.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of whether the public service agreement target to reduce the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training by two percentage points by 2010 will be met.

Margaret Hodge: We set this target to be challenging, but achievable. The Social Exclusion Unit's 1999 "Bridging the Gap" report identified three important elements in reducing the number of young people not in education, employment or training: an improved curriculum offer, appropriate financial support and high quality advice guidance and support focused on the needs of young people.
	The strategies set out in the recent 14–19 Education and Skills White Paper, alongside the earlier "Supporting Young People to Achieve" and "Every Child Matters" publications, build on the good practice and progress that has been made since Bridging the Gap. This includes the success that Connexions has had in achieving its own target to reduce the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training between 2002 and 2004. They will make sure we give the right tools and support to the statutory and voluntary services that work to prevent young people becoming disengaged and reengage them if necessary, giving a sound basis for meeting the target.

China (Arms Embargo)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he held with Ministers in EU member states about the lifting of the arms embargo with China; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 7 March 2005
	The Government supported the decision of the European Council in December 2003 to review the EU Arms Embargo on China.
	Member states discussed the embargo at the European Council in December 2004 and invited the Luxembourg Presidency to take forward work on the review. The Council underlined that
	"the result of any decision should not be an increase of arms exports from EU Member States to China, neither in quantitative nor in qualitative terms".
	EU leaders also recalled the importance of the criteria of the Code of Conduct on arms exports, in particular criteria regarding human rights, stability and security in the region and the national security of friendly and allied countries. Subject to satisfaction on these issues as laid out in the conclusions of the European Council, the Government could envisage embargo lift.
	Until the review process is complete, the Government continue to implement the Arms Embargo as set out by the then Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the late Derek Fatchett, in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) on 3 June 1998, Official Report, columns 240–41.

China (Arms Embargo)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government held with representatives of the aerospace industry before the agreement by the EU to lift the arms embargo on China, with particular reference to the impact of the lifting of the embargo on the potential of the industry to do business with companies in the United States; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 7 March 2005
	Government officials have informed representatives of the UK aerospace and defence industry of the EU's review of its arms embargo on China and of US attitudes towards this review. Officials informed industry of the resolution of the House of Representatives of 1 February on this arms embargo, and discussed with them the possible meaning of references to "limitations and constraints" to transatlantic defence co-operation as mentioned in that resolution.
	The US has a legitimate and understandable interest both in the effectiveness of the EU's system of arms control and in the stability of the East Asian region. We have to do our very best to address US concerns and reassure them on the effectiveness of the EU Code of Conduct. The latter, and not the embargo, is the key to controlling EU arms exports to China.

European Constitution

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Welsh translation of the European Constitution will be published.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 7 March 2005
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has agreed to translate the EU Constitutional Treaty into Welsh on a "without prejudice" basis. No decision has yet been made on the date of publication.

Student Visas

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many student visa applications there were in (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004 from (i) China, (ii) India, (iii) Pakistan and (iv) Bangladesh; and how many of each were refused.

Chris Mullin: The information on student visa applications, which were received and refused for the specified areas during the stated periods, is as follows:
	
		Student visa applications
		
			  April 2001 to March 2002 April 2002 to March 2003 April 2003 to March 2004 
			  Received Refused Received Refused Received Refused 
		
		
			 China 29,338 7,986 34,477 9,095 35,508 11,554 
			 India 10,813 2,683 20,569 7,952 26,552 11,333 
			 Pakistan 7,366 3,137 7,232 1,655 22,686 9,454 
			 Bangladesh 2,682 1,289 5,035 2,447 5,334 3,155 
		
	
	Figures for April 2004-March 2005 are not yet available. When they are, they can be found, along with further entry clearance statistics, on the UKvisas website at www.ukvisas.gov.uk —"Entry Clearance: Facts and Figures".

Student Visas

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of whether UKvisas' guidelines for the issuing of student visas are in line with those set out in British Council guidance; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: UKvisas' guidance leaflets for all categories of visa applicant are based on the immigration rules and the most up to date student leaflet is available on UKvisas' website, www.ukvisas.gov.uk.
	The relevant British Council guidance is entitled "First Steps" and is based on the information provided in the UKvisas student information leaflet and the students paragraph of the immigration rules. It includes detailed guidance and information on student related rather than immigration related matters.